SPIRITUAL ISRAELOut of All Nations or Out of the Nation of Israel?

By Ted R. Weiland

Spiritualizing Israel

It is generally accepted among contemporary Christians1 that Yahweh2 no longer has a plan for physical Israel under the New Covenant and that He is now working with only a multi-ethnic spiritual Israel. This hypothetical Israel is said to consist of anyone of any nationality or race who becomes a Christian. In theological terminology this is a form of “Supercessionism” or “Replacement Theology.” Many Christian preachers and writers use Galatians 3:26-29 as justification for a spiritual Israel:

For ye are all the children of God by faith in [the] Christ Yahshua.3 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 [the] Christ Yahshua. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)4

It is also commonly believed among Christians that Jews and Greeks are either different nationalities or even two distinct races of people. Consequently, they conclude that Yahweh is no longer working with physical Israel under the New Covenant, but with only a spiritual Israel that consists of people from all races of mankind, Israelites and non-Israelites alike, who have been saved in Yahshua the Christ. In his book Clouds Over America, Leonard C. Lee drew these conclusions about Yahweh’s relationship with the Israelites under the New Covenant:

God rejected the Israelites as a nation [at the commencement of the New Covenant]…. The Israelites have now passed off the stage of action.5

Their [Israelites’] nationality [under the New Covenant] is of no significance in the ultimate purposes of God.6

Furthermore, Mr. Lee claimed that the New Testament emphasis was on a “spiritual Israel”:

Since God rejected the Israelites as a nation, we can look for the fulfillment of His purposes only in spiritual Israel.7

He then explained how this occurs, citing Galatians 3:26-29 to support his claims:

Those [people of other nationalities or races] who are grafted into Christ, the root, the true vine, will become spiritual Israel and will receive all the blessings and promises made to ancient Israel.8

In his book Just Before Dawn, Cornelius Vandrebreggen used Galatians 3:26-29 in a similar fashion:

Here [in Galatians 3:26-29] are words addressed not to physical descendants of Abraham, but to saved [non-Israelite] Gentiles. They are informed that because of their faith in Jesus Christ they are Abraham’s seed. In other words, spiritually they are his descendants or his children, for they have believed in the same One [Yahshua] in Whose coming he [Abraham] believed!9

In his periodical The Last Trump, Ed Moore made similar remarks:

Hence, we can begin to see that being the children of Abraham [under the New Covenant] has nothing to do with race.10

James McKeever drew the same conclusions in his book The Future Revealed, in a chapter entitled “Israel And The Covenants”:

Today, Israel is composed of all those [people from all races of mankind] who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior….11

…all those who believe in Christ are Jews, are Israel, and are heirs to the promises made to Abraham.12

The title The Church Is Israel Now, a book by Charles Provan, says it all. On the back cover Mr. Provan states emphatically that physical Israel is no longer of consequence:

…the titles, attributes and blessings of Israel were transferred to all those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and to no one else, regardless of Abrahamic descent. The Church is Israel Now.13

The Roman Catholic Church makes similar claims. Pope Pius XI is quoted as saying the following:

Spiritually, we are Semites.14

Because Galatians 3:26-29 is so widely used to justify a “spiritual Israel” composed of all nationalities and races under the New Covenant, it is important to analyze this passage carefully. However, before doing so, it must first be understood that even if this particular passage does spiritualize Israel under the New Covenant, it does not invalidate the sixty or more New Testament passages that address racial Israel. Consider carefully the following passages with New Covenant implications:

And she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahshua: for he shall save his people [the nation of Israel] from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

But he [Yahshua] answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people [the nation of Israel]…. (Luke 1:68)15

…they [the twelve apostles] asked of him [Yahshua], saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)

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Him [Yahshua] hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31)

For finding fault with them [Old Covenant Israelites], he saith, Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel…. (Hebrews 8:8-10)16

These New Testament passages clearly demonstrate that Yahweh has not abandoned the physical nations of Israel under the New Covenant. In other words, they have not “passed off the stage of action.” In fact, Hebrews 8:8-10 quotes Jeremiah 31:31-33 where Yahweh, through the Prophet Jeremiah, declares that the New Covenant was made with physical Israelites. In the verses immediately following those quoted in Hebrews, Yahweh emphasizes that He will never abandon His people Israel:

Thus saith Yahweh, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night…. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith Yahweh, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith Yahweh; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Yahweh. (Jeremiah 31:35-37)

The sun still gives light by day, and the moon and stars still give light by night. The heavens have not begun to be measured nor have the foundations of the earth been searched out below. If Yahweh be true to His Word, then as long as these heavenly ordinances remain, Yahweh will have a plan for his people Israel. With these eternal promises in mind, does Galatians 3:26-29 spiritualize Israel in the sense that many modern-day preachers and Christians claim?

Definitions

Those who believe that a “spiritual Israel” under the New Covenant includes all nationalities and races will find that their interpretation of Galatians 3:26-29 depends entirely upon their definitions of the words “Jew” and “Greek.” It is generally assumed that the word “Jew” is synonymous with the term “Israel” or “Israelites,” the descendants of all twelve sons of Jacob-Israel. It is also generally assumed that the word “Greek,” especially when used in contrast to the word “Jew,” means non-Israelites. If these definitions are correct, then the common interpretation of Galatians 3:26-29 is also correct. However, if these definitions are incorrect, then the common interpretation of this passage is also incorrect.

As an example, if as a child you were taught that turkeys walked on four legs, had a long tail, and said “moo,” then whenever you spoke of turkeys you would be making erroneous conclusions based on that false definition. Initially, it would be difficult to convince you that your basic understanding was incorrect. After all, your teachers couldn’t be wrong! Imagine how much more difficult it would be to convince a whole society that it had been taught incorrectly.

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Applying this example to contemporary Christian leaders and teachers who have been taught incorrectly, it is understandable why they believe that all Israelites are Jews (and vice versa) and that everyone else is either a non-Israelite gentile or a Greek. The error lies in the commonly held definition of “Jew,” “Greek” and “gentile.” When the correct definitions of these terms are furnished, new light is shed on Galatians 3:26-29 and on other passages as well.

Jews

In the Bible, racial Jews (better rendered Judahites) are Israelites. However, Israelites are not always Judahites. In his book God’s Prophetic Word, Foy Wallace asserts that because “the terms ‘Jews’ and ‘Israel’ are used interchangeably” in the Bible, “then they are identical.”17 This doctrinal error might be compared with the statement, “Because Chihuahuas are dogs, all dogs are Chihuahuas.” Identifying all Israelites as Jews or Judahites would be the same as labeling all Americans as Nebraskans. These terms are not synonymous because while most Nebraskans may be Americans, not all Americans are Nebraskans.

In the Bible there was no such thing as a Judahite before the house of Judah was formed, which occurred after King Solomon’s death when the United Kingdom of Israel was divided into the two kingdoms or houses of Judah and Israel. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary acknowledges this historical fact:

JEW…. A Jehudite, i.e., descendant of Judah … a name formed from that of the patriarch Judah and applied first to the tribe or country of Judah or to a subject of the kingdom [or house] of Judah (2 Kings 25:25; Jer. 32:12; 38:19; 40:11; 41:3; 52:28) in distinction from the seceding ten tribes, the Israelites.18

This historical fact is also confirmed in the New Bible Dictionary, A New Standard Bible Dictionary and Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary:

JEW…. Originally a member of the state [kingdom or house] of Judah (2 Ki. 16:6; Ne. 1:2; Je. 32:12) and so used by foreigners from the 8th century BC onwards….19

JEW … This word does not occur in O T literature earlier than the period of Jeremiah. It then meant a citizen, or subject, of the kingdom of Judah (II K 25:25; Jer 32:12, 34:9, etc).20

Jew…. This name was properly applied to a member of the kingdom of Judah after the separation of the ten tribes. The term first makes its appearance just before the captivity of the ten tribes. 2 Kings 16:6.21

The earliest date that the term “Judahite” could be legitimately assigned to anyone would have been at the birth of Judah’s children. Therefore, it is biblically improper to identify Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or any of Jacob’s other eleven sons as Jews or Judahites. To label Abraham as a Jew or Judahite would mean that all of his descendants, including his first born son Ishmael, the progenitor of today’s Arabs, would be Judahites. In short, if Abraham were a Judahite, then today’s Arabs would be Judahites. Moreover, Abraham was not even an Israelite. The first Israelites were the children of his grandson Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. Abraham is properly identified in Genesis 14:13 as a Hebrew.

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In his book What Price Israel, Jewish author Alfred M. Lilienthal testified that the term “Jew” or “Judahite” is not automatically synonymous with the term “Israelite.” His statements leave no doubt that there is a general misunderstanding and misapplication of the word “Jew”:

The Jewish racial myth flows from the fact that the words Hebrew, Israelite, Jew, Judaism, and the Jewish people have been used synonymously to suggest a historic continuity. But this is a misuse. These words refer to different periods in history. Hebrew is a term correctly applied to the period from the beginning of Biblical history to the settling in Canaan. Israelite refers correctly to the members of the twelve tribes of Israel.* (*In considering Mr. Lilienthal’s analysis, it should be noted that the term “Israelite” also refers to descendants of the ten-tribed house of Israel after the United Kingdom of Israel was divided into two houses.) The Yehudi or Jew is used in the Old Testament to designate members of the tribe of Judah , descendants of the fourth son of Jacob, as well as to denote citizens of the Kingdom [or house] of Judah, particularly at the time of Jeremiah and under the Persian occupation. Centuries later, the same word came to be applied to anyone, no matter of what origin, whose religion was Judaism.22

In other words, when the Bible speaks of the racial descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it never uses the term “Jews” when referring to all twelve tribes. Not all Israelites were Judahites, because the descendants of Judah were only a part of the nation of Israel. This oversight has brought a biblical and spiritual blindness to many Christians who attempt to historically identify the Judahites found in the Scriptures. Moreover, it has led to many mistakes in biblical interpretation and eschatology.23

The Bible clearly identifies the people known as Jews or Judahites. The nation of Israel consisted of twelve tribes. When Solomon’s son King Rehoboam ascended to the throne, the nation of Israel divided into two houses − the house of Judah and the house of Israel. 1 Kings 12 details this division. Only the people of the house of Judah were known as Judahites or as Jews as it has been rendered in our modern English versions of the Bible. The first appearance of the word “Jew” in the Bible is found in 2 Kings 16:6, and it occurs after the two houses separated. In every instance when the Bible uses the word “Jews” to refer to racial Israelites,24 it is speaking exclusively of the descendants of the tribe of Judah or of the descendants of the southern house or kingdom of Judah.

In his book A Partisan History of Judaism, Rabbi Elmer Berger supports the biblical fact that Jews or Judahites in Scripture refer only to the members of the tribe of Judah or to the collective house of Judah:

It is interesting … to know that these tribes [Israelites from all twelve tribes entering Canaan land] and their subsequent confederacies were not yet really Jews [Judahites]; that there was no “Jewish” nation. It was not for many years after these earliest origins of these people that we find the word “Jews” in the Biblical texts. Probably the earliest such reference is in the Second Book of Kings, chapter 18, verse 26, in which the language of the people of the southern kingdom of Judah is called “the Jews’ language.” This passage is in connection with an incident close to the period of the Babylonian Exile, and the people themselves and their religion are not spoken of, by the Bible, as Jews [Judahites] until after the Exile.25

The people identified as Jews in 2 Kings 16:6, 18:26 and throughout the rest of the Bible were the racial descendants of the house of Judah, which principally consisted of the tribes of Judah and

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Benjamin and a portion of the Levites. The Bible never uses the term “Jews” to represent all twelve tribes of Israel. To sum it up, the term “Jew” refers only to the house of Judah. Consequently, those who assume that the term “Jew” in Galatians 3:26-29 represents descendants from all twelve tribes of Israel have a serious setback with their interpretation of this passage.

Greeks

Although at times the term “Greek” was used in a more explicit sense, most biblical authorities recognize that in the New Testament it is often used to simply represent gentiles in general. Consider the following definitions from Fausset’s Bible Dictionary and The New Bible Dictionary:

“Greek” means either a native of Greece or else a Gentile in general (Rom 10:12; 2:9-10, margin).26

The term Hellenes [the Greek word translated Greeks] refers to the inhabitants of Greece … but it is also used as a virtual equivalent of ‘Gentile,’ to describe those who are not of Jewish [Judahite] origin….27

This interchangeable use of Greek and gentile is confirmed in the Greek text of Romans 2, as accurately rendered in the New American Standard Bible:

There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek [Hellenos], but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek [Helleni]. For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles [ethne] who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves. (Romans 2:9-14 NASV)

Consequently, the word “Greek” in Galatians 3:28 could be replaced with “gentile” without doing harm to the intent or meaning of Galatians 3:26-29.

Gentiles

As a consequence of thinking that the Jews in the Bible represent all twelve tribes of Israel, it is a common practice for Christians to limit their interpretation of the words “Greeks” or “gentiles” to non-Israelites. The following quotations provide examples of this error as it pertains to the word “gentiles”:

Gentiles… All nations of the world other than the Jews….28

In the New Testament, a Gentile designates any lost member of the human race who is not a Jew.29

The word translated as “GENTILES” is often translated as “NATIONS.” It is the word “ETHNOS” from which we derive “ETHNIC.” All people who are not JEWS are GENTILES regardless of their ethnic orign.30

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The term “Gentiles” in the New Testament always refers to people and nations outside of and apart from all the twelve tribes of Israel…. It can be said positively that IN NO CASE IN THE BIBLE, either in the Old Testament or in the New, DOES THE WORD “GENTILE” REFER OR APPLY TO ANY PART OF ISRAEL.31

The Greek word “e)qno$” (ethnos) is found in the King James New Testament 166 times. It is translated gentile(s) 93 times, nation(s) 64 times, heathen(s) 5 times, people(s) 2 times, Greek 1 time, and saint 1 time. It is never translated non-Jew or non-Israelite as defined by most Christians. The word “ethnos” and its English equivalent “gentiles” are simply not the exclusionary terms that many Christians believe them to be.

The New Testament writers used ethnos (singular) and ethne (plural), usually translated Gentile(s), in a much broader fashion than is generally understood. Consider the following four scriptural examples:

In the first example the Greek word “ethne,” translated gentiles, is used to refer to non-Israelites, specifically Canaanite nations:

Which also our [Israelite] fathers that came after brought in with Jesus [Joshua of the Old Testament] into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers…. (Acts 7:45)

In the second example the Greek word “ethne,” translated nations, is used to refer to a multi-ethnic multitude of people, specifically Israelite and non-Israelite nations alike:

And 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. (Acts 17:26)

In the third example the Greek word “ethnos,” translated nation, is used to refer to Judahites, specifically descendants of the house of Judah, the two southern tribes of Israel:

And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews [Judahites]…. (Acts 10:22)

In the fourth example the Greek word “ethne,” translated gentiles, is used to refer to Israelites, specifically the descendants of the house of Israel, the ten northern tribes of Israel:

And that he [Yahweh] might make known the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews [Judahites] only, but also of the Gentiles. (Romans 9:23-24)32

Not only do these previous four passages demonstrate a much broader application for ethnos and ethne than most contemporary Christians understand, but lexicographers also give them broader application as well. Consider carefully the following definitions for the Greek word “ethnos”:

e&qno$ … 1. a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a company, troop, swarm…. 2. a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus … Acts 17:26…. 3. Race, nation: Mt 21:43; Acts 10:35, etc. … of the Jewish [Judahite] people, Lk 22:25; used (in the sing.) of the Jewish [Judahite] people, Lk. 7:5; 23:2…. 4. … in the O.T., foreign nations not worshipping the true

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God, pagans, Gentiles … Mt. 4:15 … and very often; in plain contradistinction to the Jews: Ro 3:29…. 5. Paul uses … ta\ >e&qnh even of Gentile Christians: Ro. 11:13; 15:27….33

e&qno$ in the NT … There are 64 passages in the NT where we have e&qno$ or e&qnh without any special sense or characteristics…. About 60 refer to a people or peoples in the general sense, and of these the following have in view the Jewish [all Israel] people: Lk. 7:5; 23:2; Jn. 11:48, 50, 51, 52; 18:35; Ac. 10:22; 24:2, 10, 17; 26:4; 28:19; 1 Pt. 2:9. That the Jewish [all Israel] people is meant in the same sense as others, with no particular distinction, may be seen from the various contexts…. That the expression e&qnh refers to all nations may be seen from the addition of pa/nta [all] in Mt. 24:9, 14; 25:32; 28:19; Mk. 11:17; 13:10; Lk. 21:24; 24:47; R. 15:11; Gl. 3:8.34

In the foregoing quotation, some of the passages applied to “the Jewish people” are inclusive of all twelve tribes. Therefore, do not overlook that Gerhard Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament includes both Judahites and Israelites in its definition of ethnos, which is in perfect harmony with the authors of the New Testament.

The New Testament writers demonstrate that ethnos is simply a generic expression for any nation, people or race. It can refer to either a non-Israelite or Israelite nation. Therefore, it is improper to randomly select the application that corresponds with a particular doctrinal position and apply that application to any particular passage of the Bible.

With these former passages and definitions in mind, nation(s) is clearly the best translation of ethnos and ethne. They should have been translated in this manner throughout the New Testament, permitting the context of each passage to determine which nation(s) were being referred to. Had ethnos and ethne been consistently translated nation(s), much of today’s confusion concerning the gentiles would have never occurred. Unfortunately, the translators often erred, which has often resulted in flawed theology concerning this word and its biblical applications, including its use in Galatians 3:26-29.

The Context of Galatians

What does the context of the book of Galatians reveal concerning the Greeks or gentiles in Galatians 3:26-29? To whom was the book of Galatians written?

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Yahshua [the] Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia. (Galatians 1:1-2)

The Greek word “e)kklhsi/ai$,” (ekkleesíais), translated churches, means called out assemblies or communities. The Apostle Paul addressed this epistle to the Christian communities found throughout the country of Galatia who had responded to the New Covenant call of salvation in Yahshua the Christ. Who were these Galatians who responded to the gospel? The Apostle Peter provides an important clue in answering this question:

Peter, an apostle of Yahshua [the] Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Yahshua [the] Christ…. (1 Peter 1:1-2)

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The word “scattered” is translated from the Greek word “>diaspora=$” (diasporas). “Diaspora” is the same Greek word used by the translators of the Septuagint Old Testament in Deuteronomy 28:25, 30:4, Psalm 147:2 and Nehemiah 1:8 concerning the dispersion of the Old Testament Israelites.

The King James Bible translators rendered “diaspora” as “strangers scattered.” In The Interlinear Bible, Jay P. Green translated “diaspora” as “sojourners of the dispersion.”35 Strong’s Concordance defines “diaspora” as “Israelite resident(s) in Gentile countries.”36 “Diaspora” is also the same Greek noun, translated scattered, used by James in his epistle where he leaves no doubt that he is writing to Israelites:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Yahshua [the] Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (James 1:1)

Flavius Josephus, the first-century Judahite historian and contemporary of the Apostle Peter, verified the existence and location of the dispersed or scattered ten tribes of the house of Israel:

…the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.37

In harmony with the inspired writings of the Apostle Peter and James, the Judahite historian Flavius Josephus identified this innumerable multitude as being “beyond the Euphrates.” The following map reveals that “beyond the Euphrates” includes the countries cited in Peter’s salutation.

[Include map from GCP, p. 333]

Josephus’ statement should not surprise any serious Bible student because it fulfills the Prophet Ahijah’s prophecy:

For Yahweh will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot [the house of] Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Yahweh to anger. (1 Kings 14:15 NASV)

These witnesses attest to the fact that Peter wrote his first epistle to dispersed Israelites. 1 Peter 1:1, therefore, can be interpreted and understood to say the following:

Peter … to the strangers, Israelites of the dispersion, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia….

It is a biblical and historical fact that a portion of the Israelites from the house of Israel, after being taken captive by the Assyrians, migrated and made their residence in the country of Galatia. Peter addressed some of these Israelites in his first epistle. The Apostle Paul was a contemporary of the Apostle Peter and it is likely that he wrote to these same Israelites. This alone does not prove that the Greeks referred to in Galatians 3:28 were Israelite gentiles. However, it certainly deserves consideration when attempting to determine who they were. The context of Galatians 3 provides the remaining clues necessary to correctly identify them.

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Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)

Galatians 3:7 is often quoted in an attempt to spiritualize Israel in the New Testament. However, this verse taken alone, as it is translated in our modern English versions, does not support the concept that Israel is merely spiritual. If the word “they” spoken of in this verse refers to non-Israelite gentiles, then a person must conclude that the children of Abraham are spiritual children rather than physical children. On the other hand, if the word “they” refers to racial Israelites from either the house of Judah or the house of Israel, then a person must conclude that only those racial Israelites who are of faith are considered true children of Abraham. The remaining racial Israelites − those who do not accept or enter into the New Covenant through Yahshua the Christ − would remain in their sins and still be in need of the blood of Yahshua the Christ in order to be considered the children of Abraham.

In other words, nothing can be proven by the proponents of either position using this verse alone, especially as it has been translated in most modern English Bibles. However, consider this verse as translated by Pastor Alfred Marshall in The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, in which the Greek phrase “ou!toi >ui(oi/ >ei)sin >)Abraa/m” is literally translated these sons are of Abraham:

Know ye then that the (ones) of faith, these sons are of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)38

In other words, those Israelites who were already physical sons, and who believed in Yahshua, were reckoned as being true sons of Abraham. 1 Peter 3 provides us with a similar expression that acts as a corroborating witness:

…Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. (1 Peter 3:6)

It has already been demonstrated that the Apostle Peter wrote his first epistle to Israelites of the dispersion. Consequently, 1 Peter 3:6 can be interpreted and understood to say:

…you physical daughters of Sarah are truly her children if you do well….

Even when using the literal translation of Galatians 3:7, we are not provided enough evidence to determine the correct application for the word “Greek” in Galatians 3:28. We must look for more evidence from within the context:

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3:23-25)

In these three verses the “we” and “us” are the same people as the “ye” and “you” whom Paul addresses in verses 26 and 27 and whom he identifies as both Judahites and Greeks in verse 28:

For ye are all the children of God by faith in [the] Christ Yahshua. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek…. (Galatians 3:26-28)

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Therefore, the “we” and “us” in verses 23-25 are both Judahites and Greeks. Paul described these same people as having previously been “under the law.” This description fits only one group of people − the nation of Israel, which consisted of the nations from the house of Judah and the house of Israel:

Moses commanded us [the nation of Israel] a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. (Deuteronomy 33:4)

For he [Yahweh] established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children. (Psalm 78:5)

…my [the Apostle Paul’s] brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. (Romans 9:3-4)

These scriptures teach that Yahweh gave His law to Israelites. It belonged to them, they were under its obligation and, likewise, under its curse. Not only was Yahweh’s law given to the Israelites as their possession, it was given exclusively to Israelites:

He [Yahweh] sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye Yah! (Psalm 147:19-20)

This irrefutable evidence, which most if not all of Christendom agrees with, correctly identifies the Greeks in Galatians 3:28. Those Galatians can be none other than Israelite gentiles or nations from the house of Israel whom Yahweh had divorced and scattered among non-Israelites nations and who generally had become known as Greeks. The context proves this to be true because only the twelve tribes of Israel had been under the law of Yahweh. Corroborating evidence is provided in the five verses immediately following verse 29 of Galatians 3:

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:1-5)

We are provided three clues in these five verses. The first clue “under the law” has already been discussed. Only Israelites, from the house of Judah and the dispersed house of Israel, had been under Yahweh’s law.

The second clue is that Yahshua came to “redeem them that were under the law.” Note that this verse says nothing about redeeming those who were not under the law. Why would Yahshua not have come to redeem non-Israelites as well? Simply put, He could not! Yahshua could purchase non-Israelites, but He could not redeem them. The word “redeem” is translated from the Greek word “e)cagora/sh|,” (exagorásee), and it means to buy back. Other nations could be bought, but only Israel could be bought back because only those people who had once been the possession of Yahweh could be bought back or redeemed. What nations had previously been the possession of Yahweh? Moses answers this question for us:

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Now therefore, if ye [the nations of Israel] will obey my [Yahweh’s] voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure [possession NASV] 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 [Moses] shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6)

For thou [the nations of Israel] art an holy people unto Yahweh thy God: Yahweh thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself [a people for His own possession NASV], above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)

When Israel forgot or rejected Yahweh her God and husband, He sold them into bondage to her enemies as recorded in Deuteronomy 28:68, Judges 2:14, 3:8, 4:2, 10:7, 1 Samuel 12:9 and Isaiah 50:1. Only Israelites who had been the possession or wife of Yahweh and who had subsequently been sold by Yahweh could be bought back or redeemed by Yahweh. When the word “redemption,” or some form thereof, is used in the Bible in relation to a specific people, it is always associated with the nation of Israel:

Let [the nation of] Israel hope in Yahweh: for with Yahweh there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-8)

And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith Yahweh. (Isaiah 59:20)

…O ye nations … declare it in the isles afar off … He that scattered [the house of] Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For Yahweh hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. (Jeremiah 31:10-11)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people [physical Israelites], and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets…. (Luke 1:68-70)

But we [the two disciples with Yahshua on the road to Emmaus] trusted that it had been he [Yahshua] which should have redeemed Israel…. (Luke 24:21)

…the hundred and forty and four thousand [from the twelve tribes of Israel], which were redeemed from the earth…. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:3-4)

Yahweh is identified as the Redeemer of Israel but never as the Redeemer of the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Canaanites or any other non-Israelite nation. The law of a kinsmen redeemer stipulates that only a brother or a near kinsman can redeem a fellow Israelite:

And if … thy brother … wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him…. (Leviticus 25:47-49)

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A redeemer can come only from a kinsman of the man sold into bondage. Yahshua, born of the tribe of Judah, was a racial kinsman of all Israelites and lawfully qualified to redeem His people. Redemption in this unique sense belongs exclusively to the nation of Israel. Therefore, biblical exegesis reveals that Paul wrote the Galatian epistle to born-again, Greek-speaking Israelites residing in the country of Galatia.

The third clue in Galatians 4:5 is found in the word “adoption.” To whom do the Scriptures say that biblical adoption belongs?

…my [the Apostle Paul’s] brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. (Romans 9:3-4)

This verse does not harmonize with what many Christians believe concerning the adoption. It is a common belief among contemporary Christians that anyone from any race can receive biblical adoption. However, the Apostle Paul wrote that adoption pertains to Israelites. Therefore, the Greeks or the gentiles in Galatians 3 must be the nations of the divorced and scattered house of Israel.

The context of Galatians 3 correctly identifies the Greeks as Israelites. This conclusion is supported by the fact that Paul, likewise, identified himself and the Corinthian Christians as descendants of Old Covenant Israelites:

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

This passage is referring to that time in ancient Israel’s history when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Two chapters later Paul uses the same phrase “Jews and Greeks,” as correctly rendered in the New American Standard Bible, to identify himself and the Corinthian gentiles or nations to whom he was writing:

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks [Hellenes], whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13-14 NASV)

The Greeks in 1 Corinthians 12 and Galatians 3 are not non-Israelite gentiles. They are instead the scattered nations of the house of Israel. The Apostle John confirmed this identification:

The Jews therefore said to one another, “Where does this man [Yahshua] intend to go that we shall not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion [diaspora − Israelites of the dispersion] among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?” (John 7:35 NASV)

Once again, Strong’s Concordance defines diaspora as Israelite residents in Gentile countries. In other words, the Judahites questioning Yahshua identified certain Greeks as Israelites who had been dispersed among the non-Israelite Greek nations.

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In addition to the previous three clues, note the emphasis placed upon the words “if” and “then” in verse 29 of Galatians 3:

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:3-4, the promises belong to Israel. Therefore, Galatians 3:29 can now be correctly understood to say: Only Israelites, either Judahites or Greeks, who belong to Yahshua the Christ are reckoned as true heirs of Abraham according to the promise. This interpretation of Galatians 3:26-29 harmonizes perfectly with Paul’s same discussion in his epistle to the Romans:

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law [the house of Judah], but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [the house of Israel]; who is the father of us all [both the house of Judah and the house of Israel], (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. (Romans 4:16-18)

In the Greek, this last phrase literally reads “>Ou%tw$ >e&stai >to\ spe/rma >sou,” “So shall be the seed of thee.” It was Abraham’s physical seed who were to become many nations, not many nations who were to become Abraham’s spiritual seed as it is generally misunderstood by most Christians.

Galatians 3:29 is dealing with Israelites who were under the mistaken notion that simply being a physical descendant of Abraham was all that was required to be considered an heir of the promise. In rebuttal, Paul pointed out that physical descent was not enough under the New Covenant. The physical descendants of Abraham are considered “heirs according to the promise” only if they are also spiritual sons of Abraham through salvation in Yahshua the Christ.39

This does not mean that non-Israelites cannot join themselves to Yahweh and become proselytes to the covenants that belong to the Israelites and, therefore, also receive benefits derived from those covenants − Isaiah 56:3-7, etc. However, a person does not have to distort Galatians 3:26-29 in order to prove this point.

In conclusion, the Apostle Paul makes it clear to whom he was addressing this epistle:

For ye are all the children of God by faith in [the] Christ Yahshua. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27)

The “ye” and “you” in verse 26 are identified in verse 28 as being:

Judahites, that is, descendants of the house of Judah, and

Greeks, that is, descendants of the house of Israel who were formerly under Yahweh’s law, divorced by Yahweh and dispersed to Galatia, whom Yahshua came to redeem, and to whom belongs the adoption and the promise.

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Does Galatians 3:26-29 Spiritualize Israel?

It certainly does. However, not in the sense that it is generally understood. This passage is declaring that only Abraham’s racial descendants who have also become spiritual descendants through salvation in Yahshua the Christ can be considered Abraham’s true descendants and, therefore, heirs of the promise. They are “the Israel of God” as depicted in Galatians 6:16. In other words, there is a spiritual Israel today. However, it is not out of all nations, but out of the nation of Israel.

Other Relevant Scriptures

Two other passages of Scripture deserve attention because they are also used to incorrectly teach a spiritual Israel from all nations or races who have been saved in Yahshua.

Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew [Judahite], which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew [Judahite], 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.

This text is usually inaccurately applied to Judahites and gentiles alike. But even if Paul were addressing these statements to gentiles, in Romans 9:24-26 he identifies those gentiles as Israelites, that is, descendants from the house of Israel.40

However, Romans 2:28-29 has nothing to do with gentiles. Instead, Paul was simply addressing his fellow Judahites who had the same erroneous outlook as previously described in the preceding study of Galatians 3. These Judahites who, like Paul, could claim racial ties to Abraham, assumed that their Judahite pedigree alone was sufficient to make them acceptable to Yahweh. Paul was not declaring to non-Israelites that they could become spiritual Judahites. Instead, he was declaring to the Judahites that they were not true Judahites unless they were circumcised of the heart, that is, saved in Yahshua the Christ.

Romans 9:6

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.

There are two ways in which this verse by itself is interpreted:

1. Israel is composed of more than just racial Israelites.

2. Not all racial Israelites are considered true Israel.

Note that option 1 implies an inclusion or an addition of people, and option 2 implies an exclusion or a subtraction of people. Because there are two possible options for interpreting this verse, we must allow the context to determine the correct interpretation. Does the context include or exclude people? Verses 7-27 make it clear that Paul’s intent was an exclusion of people.

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First, in verses 7-9, the racial line of Ishmael was excluded from Abraham’s seed. Next, in verses 10-13, the racial line of Esau was excluded. Verses 14-22 explain Yahweh’s sovereign right to exclude whomever He wishes. Next, in verses 23-27, the majority of Israelites from both the house of Judah and the house of Israel were also excluded from Abraham’s seed.

Paul’s point in verses 6-26 was to illustrate that “though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved” − verse 27. In other words, “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” or not all Israelites are considered Israel in Yahweh’s sight. This conclusion harmonizes perfectly with what has already been determined from Galatians 3:26-29 and Romans 2:28-29.

Read more at www.missiontoisrael.org/

Source Notes

1. Many people who claim to be Christians have not been properly instructed in the biblical plan of salvation. Therefore, in many instances the designation “Christian” is used in a generic sense only. Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:36-41, Acts 22:1-16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27 and 1 Peter 3:21 should be studied in order to understand what is required for salvation in Yahshua the Christ. For more information concerning baptism and its relationship to salvation, Baptism by the Scriptures may be read at www.missiontoisrael.org/baptismbythescriptures.html, or it is available as a free tract from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363.

2. “Yahweh” is the personal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible. For a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the sacred names of God, The Third Commandment may be read at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/3rdcom-pt1.html, or it may be ordered as a book from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a $4 suggested donation.

3. Yahshua is the English transliteration of our Savior’s Hebrew name and is preferred by the author of this book. For a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the sacred names of God, The Third Commandment may be read at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/3rdcom-pt1.html, or it may be ordered as a book from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a $4 suggested donation.

4. All scripture is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. All bold and italic emphases have been added by the author of this book; all other emphases are by the author of the quoted material.

5. Leonard C. Lee, Clouds Over America (Washington DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1948) p. 71.

6. Lee. p. 74.

7. Lee, p. 71.

8. Lee, p. 75.

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9. Cornelius Vanderbreggen, Jr., Just Before Dawn (Hiawassee, GA: Reapers Fellowship, 1988) p. 35.

10. Ed Moore, The Last Trump (January/February, 1991) p. 7.

11. James McKeever, “Israel And The Covenants,” The Future Revealed (Medford, OR: Omega Ministries) p. 43.

12. McKeever, p. 55.

13. Charles D. Provan, The Church IS Israel Now (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1987) back cover.

14. Pope Pius XI, The Point (October, 1958) p. 18.

15. Portions of scripture have been omitted throughout this book simply for brevity’s sake. If there is any question regarding any passage of scripture, readers are encouraged to open their Bibles and study the text to ensure that it has been properly used.

16. God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever lists sixty New Testament passages that clearly present Yahweh’s New Covenant plan for physical Israel. God’s Covenant People may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hard cover − $23, soft cover − $14.

17. Foy Wallace, Jr., God’s Prophetic Word (Ft. Worth, TX: E. Wallace Publications, 1946) p. 402.

18. “Jew,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1985) p. 688.

19. “JEW,” New Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1982) p. 593.

20. “JEW,” A New Standard Bible Dictionary (New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1936) pp. 453-454.

21. “Jew,” Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary (New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1947) p. 316.

22. Alfred M. Lilienthal, What Price Israel (Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery Company, 1953) p. 216.

23. Not only is the word “Jew” in the Bible misunderstood and misapplied to all twelve tribes of Israel, but the majority of today’s Jews have been misrepresented as Israelites. Instead, the Celtic, Scandinavian, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon and kindred peoples are today’s Israelites. Contemporary Jewish authorities admit to both these anthropological facts. God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever provides over 700 documented quotations, many of them from Jewish authors, which demonstrate that these facts are true. God’s Covenant People may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hard cover − $23, soft cover − $14.

24. In Esther 8:17, Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, people from non-Israelite nations deceptively adopted the religion of the house of Judah and became known as Jews or Judahites, but in name or religion only.

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25. Rabbi Elmer Berger, A Partisan History of Judaism (New York, NY: The Devin-Adair Company, 1951) p. 32.

26. “GREECE,” Fausset’s Bible Dictionary, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1998 by Biblesoft.

27. “GREEKS,” The New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978) p. 494.

28. “Gentiles,” The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1944) p. 199.

29. Tim LaHaye, Will You Escape The Tribulation? Rapture [Under Attack], (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1998) p. 233.

30. Randy Shupe, “God’s Dispensational Truth,” The Prophetic Word (Arvada, CO: Apostolic Missions, Inc., 1997) January, p. 3.

31. Anton Darms, The Delusion of British-Israelism: A Comprehensive Treatise (New York: NY: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Press, 1940) pp. 72-73.

32. A more exhaustive explanation of Romans 9:23-24 can be found in Chapter 1, “God’s Plan for Physical Israel Today,” in God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever, which may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hard cover − $23, soft cover − $14.

33. “e)qno$,” The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979) p. 168.

34. Gerhard Kittel, editor, “e)qno$ in the NT,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964) Volume II, p. 369.

35. Jay P. Green, Sr., The Interlinear Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House,1983) p. 940.

36. James Strong, “diaspora=$,” “Dictionary of the Greek Testament,” The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 23.

37. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960) Book XI, Chapter V, Verse 2, p. 234.

38. Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958) p. 747.

39. Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:36-41, Acts 22:1-16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27 and 1 Peter 3:21 should be studied when considering what our response should be to Yahshua’s gospel call of salvation. For more information concerning baptism and its relationship to salvation, Baptism by the Scriptures may be read at www.missiontoisrael.org/baptismbythescriptures.html, or it is available as a free tract from Mission to Israel, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363.

40. A more exhaustive explanation of Romans 9:23-24 can be found in Chapter 1, “God’s Plan for Physical Israel Today,” in God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever, which

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may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hard cover − $23, soft cover − $14.

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