Hello, and welcome to another teaching by 119 Ministries.
Our ministry teaches that the whole Bible is still true, and directly relevant in our
lives.
If you would like to know more on what we believe and teach, please visit us at testeverything.net.
We hope that you enjoy studying and testing the following teaching.
There is much talk about Israel and the Church, but who is Israel?
Who is the Church?
What if I were to tell you they were one and the same?
I know that may sound difficult to hear at first, for many, but let's examine this
some.
Is Israel just lines on a map?
Is Israel those who live within those lines?
Likewise, is the Church a building?
Is the Church all those individuals who attend meetings in that building?
So what are the definitions of the words Church and Israel?
For a long time, we have been told that these two names have different definitions, that
they are completely two different entities.
Israel is obviously first identified in the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 5.
Pharaoh said, Who is Yahweh that I should obey him and let Israel go?
I do not know Yahweh and I will not let Israel go.
And also, given this title from Yahweh himself, Exodus chapter 9, but Yahweh will make a distinction
between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites
will die.
Then after the Exodus as well, Exodus chapter 12, the Israelites journeyed from Ramesses
to Sukkot.
There, there were about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks
and herds.
So others went with them.
What happened to these other people?
Well, we notice that they begin being considered a part of Israel right away.
Consider what is said at the time Pharaoh pursues all those who left just after he released
them.
Exodus 14, Then the angel of God, who had been traveling
in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them.
The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the
armies of Egypt and Israel.
They were considered as a part of Israel.
They were truly the first who were grafted in.
Remember, the land that Israel went in to conquer was divided amongst the twelve tribes.
Not twelve tribes and those who joined them, only the twelve tribes.
Plus, they are informed that they are not to be considered different or follow their
own laws.
They are instructed to follow the same instructions as those who are native born.
Numbers 15.
As for the assembly, there shall be one statue for you and the alien who sojourns with you.
A perpetual statue throughout your generations.
As you are, so shall the alien be before Yahweh.
There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.
So there we have it.
As you are, so shall the alien be before Yahweh.
They are the same.
They truly were grafted in as Israel.
So what does this tell us?
Israel is anyone who chooses to follow Yahweh.
Let's not forget this.
Now what about the church?
The church is first mentioned in the New Testament, of course, by Yeshua himself, Matthew chapter
16, and I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church
– Ecclesian – and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
He also mentions it again in chapter 18, and if he refused to hear them, tell it unto the
church – Ecclesia – and if he refused to hear the church, Ecclesias also let him
be unto thee as the Gentile and the Publican.
The Greek word Ecclesia actually means assembly.
Had the interpreters used the word assembly as Ecclesia means, instead of the word church,
there would be no confusion on this issue.
We encourage you to look up the word assembly in the Old Testament.
You'll find it's referring to the church of the Old Testament.
There even Stevens referred to Moses in Acts.
He was in the assembly in the desert with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and
with our fathers, and he received living words to pass on to us.
The word for assembly here is Ecclesia.
That's right, the exact same word used for church throughout the rest of the New Testament.
Why didn't the translators make this Ecclesia say church like all the other ones in the
New Testament?
Because that would put Moses in the church.
And most all want to separate the church from Israel, when nothing could be further
from the truth.
If assembly was used like it should have been for Ecclesia in the rest of the New Testament,
the flow between the Old and New Testaments would be seamless.
For then we would see that the church is truly the continuance of the assembly of the Old
Testament, the Tanakh, and not some supposed new creation from Yeshua.
Even the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Tanakh, again the Old Testament, actually
uses Ecclesia for assembly throughout the translation.
And in case you didn't know, the Septuagint was written hundreds of years before Yeshua
even came.
What does this mean?
It means that Ecclesia was understood by all in the first century to be the assembly of
Israel.
This truly can't be overlooked anymore.
To further this point, we see in the New Jerusalem that there are 12 gates, all for the 12 tribes.
Revelation 21.
It had a great high wall with 12 gates, and with 12 angels at the gates.
And the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.
We must take note that there is not a gate for the Gentile church, meaning what?
We are grafted in to Israel, and Israel is the church.
Biblically speaking, we can't separate Israel and the church.
There's no such thing as Israel and the church, because Israel is the church.
And remember, as in the days of the first Exodus, Israel is anyone who chooses to follow
Yahweh, and so it is today.
We encourage you to watch our teaching titled, Grafted In, and The Lost Sheep for more detail
on that topic.
Again, Israel is the church, and the church is Israel.
You will enter the New Jerusalem through one of the 12 tribes, or you won't enter it
at all.
We pray you have enjoyed this study.
Remember, continue to test everything.
Shalom.
For years, we've been told that Sunday is now the accepted day of the Lord.
Ministers, pastors, teachers, all saying the same thing, but what if they were wrong?
How can the Fourth Commandment be disregarded by millions every week?
What scriptures are used for their defenses?
If the Word of God truly stands forever, how can man's word dictate otherwise?
What authorizes any man, church, or denomination to alter the Word of God?
If the Sabbath was given to man, why should one ever think that God would take it away?
Are you ready to confront your faith?
Are you willing to let traditions fall?
Learn what has been covered by centuries of man-made doctrines.
Discover the truth as revealed in the scriptures of how the Sabbath is the sign between the
Father and those who pursue after His ways.
The Sabbath Day from 119 Ministries.
