daq said:
The statement-question in bold red emphasis I do not understand:
As for the rest we appear to agree, (even concerning the contexts you have chosen) ... :)
My wording fails miserably I know : ) As we can read, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be sitting in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 8:10-12
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you,
That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
How is this possible if we say the body of Christ is the bride and the only way to the heavenly hope is to be part of his body?
They are Old Covenant Israel who passed on before Jesus' ministry and were not part of the body of Christ, so how is it that they made heaven?
My point is, because the body of Christ is NOT the bride, The holy City heavenly Jerusalem our MOTHER is the Bride and the offspring are the children/sons of God.
Rev 21:9-12
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying,
Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit
to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
KJV
They are part of the remnant of the 7,000 OT saints that God has spared for Himself by grace. All others MUST be born again since Christ. These are the, MANY of the saints who came out of the graves in the eartquake at Jesus' resurrection and walked around in the city.
1 Kings 19:18 Yet
I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
KJV
Rom 11:1 I say then,
Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
4
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
5 Even
so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
KJV
Ezek 37:5-8
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And
I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied,
there was a noise, and behold a shaking{EARTHQUAKE}, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above:
but there was no breath in them{THEY COULD NOT RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF LIFE UNTIL AFTER JESUS WAS FIRST TO RESURRECT}.
KJV
Ezek 37:12-14
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when
I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And
shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
KJV
Matt 27:50-54
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold,
the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And
the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And
came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus,
saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
KJV