Shalom, veteran.
veteran said:
That view is confusion because it DOES all boil down to believers on The Father through His Son Jesus Christ vs. non-believers, REGARDLESS OF BIRTH.
If unbelieving Jews remain in unbelief they too will be cut off forever, likewise with unbelieving Gentiles.
Furthermore, the goats of Matt.25 is not just about Gentiles. It will include unbelieving Israelites too in a place of separation when Jesus returns. There's quite a few Jews today that don't even believe in God, and are Communists and devil worshippers, just as it is with some Gentiles.
Rev 22:14-15
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
(KJV)
(Who cares about whether someone is a "Communist?" I'd be more concerned it he or she is a Atheist! All a communist is is a person who believes that we should share our wealth with others in the same community! Unfortunately, it is not very practical because it has traditionally devolved into an oligarchy in which a select few govern over the masses and DICTATE what they must share with the community! But, the first churches were "communistic" in practice! See Acts 4:32.)
It's only "confusion" to an already confused mind. First, your interpretation of Matthew 25 is in error because you don't yet understand who Yeshua` was talking about when he talked about "the least of these my brethren." He is NOT just talking about the "Christians!" You need to understand that
MISHPACHAH, FAMILY, is the most important thing to Isra'elis. EVERY mention in the Scriptures about their ties to their God involved their "FATHERS," Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya`aqov who became "Isra'el." Daviyd considered himself God's son, and God called Daviyd's son, Shlomo, HIS OWN son! It's all about FAMILY!
And, don't think to quote Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, or Luke 8:19-21, because these are only the "dropping of the first shoe":
Matthew 12:46-50
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him,
Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
KJV
Mark 3:31-35
31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
KJV
Luke 8:19-21
19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
KJV
First, those who "hear the word of God and do it" or "whosoever shall do the will of God" or "whosoever shall do the will of [His] Father in heaven" does NOT equate directly to "Christians!" (Although, it probably should.) The activity of hearing the word of God, Yeshua`s Father in the sky, and doing what He wants them to do is directly related to what Yeshua` said His Father wanted: And, it's not difficult to know, even if one sticks to the NT.
This was one of my first detailed word studies that God put in my heart to do when I was in college back in the years of 1976-1980. I looked up every occurrence of the word "will" in the Scriptures. (It wasn't an easy task with only a Strong's Concordance to go by, but it wasn't impossible. It was just a long and tedious project.) I remember wanting to know what God's will for my life was, and for all of the verses that talk about the "will of God," most of them talk more about "doing" His will rather than "knowing" His will! That shocked me, at first! The question came to my mind, "How can I DO His will if I don't know what His will IS?" I wrestled with this for nearly two years. Then, the Ruach haQodesh (the Holy Spirit) led me to 1 John 3 and 5. I noticed two passages that sounded almost the same:
1 John 3:18-24
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
KJV
1 John 5:13-15
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
KJV
I puzzled with these two passages for a while, breaking them down into their basic parts and discovered that "according to His will" in 5:14 was parallel to "we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" in 3:22! What should have been a "no-brainer" was a wall to me! Finally, God helped me to see that it was a wall of paper mache and helped me break through that "wall." God's will, what God wanted, was ALREADY GIVEN and was ALREADY KNOWN! I didn't have to go hunting for it, and suddenly another passage made perfect sense:
1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
KJV
In the process of this word study, I came to realize that what I was trying to find was God's PLAN for the world and for my life in particular. That is NOT what I was supposed to be looking for. I should have been looking for His WILL - what He WANTS! And, what does He want? He wants us to be HOLY! He wants us to be SANCTIFIED! He wants us to KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS! And, don't be too quick to judge on that, for He also showed me 3:23: "And this is his commandment, That
we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. He also showed me 5:1-3:
1 John 5:1-3
1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
KJV
So, "believing on the name of His Son Yeshua` haMashiach" IS "loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength," BECAUSE it is "keeping His commandments!"
So, DOING His will - DOING what He wants us to do - is loving God (by showing love to His Son) and loving one another!
God doesn't share His PLAN fully with anyone; it's none of our business what's going to happen in the future, not even in our own future! God only requires of us His commandments of "loving God" and "loving one another," which IS His WILL! God already knows whom we will marry; that's His Plan. God want us to do what's RIGHT; that's His Will! This puts a greater light on the passage I memorized as a child:
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
KJV
We may plan OUR ways, but in everything we plan, we must acknowledge HIM, trust in HIM, and not lean upon our own understanding. Just rest on Him and HE shall direct our paths! Our plans may fail, but HIS Plan will prevail - for good ends, or for bad ends! But, if we are doing what is RIGHT, if we are doing His WILL, if we are keeping His commandments of loving God and loving one another, HE shall direct our paths, and we can trust Him to do good for us, however our lives turn out! We can even face death relying on His power and His love to resurrect us in His timing as promised.
The implications of this fact are astounding! I've known lots of teenagers who were "looking for Mr. Right" or "looking for Miss Right," seeking "the center of God's Perfect Will" for their lives! But, God's focus is NOT on whom we will marry. (God already knows whom we will marry, and that's HIS business while it is still in the future, not ours!) God's focus is that, in whomever we choose to marry, we DO RIGHTEOUSNESS! We need to treat that person with respect, learn to love that person, and marry that person, as God would have us do! A marriage certificate is more than just a "piece of paper!" It's a CONTRACT - a COVENANT - that we make together before God and in the sight of witnesses that PROVES our love for each other and our commitment to each other's well being, safety and security!
I've known a guy who was married to one woman and thought He had missed "God's perfect will for His life." He then proceeded to divorce the first woman and marry another, whom he calculated was "the ONE." Remember the song by England Dan & John Ford Coley in May of 1977 with the words "Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else when the right one comes along"? Well, this was the way this guy THOUGHT! Isn't it ironic that, to get back into "God's perfect will," he had to DIVORCE the wife he had?! God is NOT so much into divorce!
Matthew 19:3-9
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness (fierceness)
of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication (in which case adultery is already involved)
, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
KJV
If Mosheh (Moses) didn't give them a "way out," these guys were so FIERCE that they would have resorted to MURDER to get out of the marriage!
What this guy did was NOT loving to his first wife! What he SHOULD have done was to nip the adultery in his heart in the bud, repent of his sin, and turn back to his first wife with love and care for her, admitting his fault and asking her for her forgiveness, regardless what "chemistry" he may have had with this second home-wrecker!
So, what God wants us to do is to do what is RIGHT, to do RIGHTEOUSNESS, to be holy as He is holy, to be sanctified! Even in the Tanakh (the OT), it was clear enough for people to understand because David figured it out:
Psalm 51:7-13
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
KJV
And, it should have been clear to any who were trying to keep His commandments ritualistically:
Exodus 20:1-6
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
KJV
Leviticus 19:18
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
KJV
Deuteronomy 5:4-10
4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount
saying,
6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
KJV
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
KJV
But, don't think for one minute that Yeshua` didn't care about His literal family!
John 2:11-12
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
KJV
John 7:1-10
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.
9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.
10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
KJV
John 19:25-27
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
KJV
And, the same is true for His brothers and sisters through the lineage to which He was born! He cared greatly for them:
Matthew 23:37-39
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
KJV
He didn't end His statement at verse 38! He gave them the glimmer of hope in His prophecy of verse 39! That's why Paul could confidently write to the Romans,
Romans 11:22-29
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
KJV
Even if they are enemies of those who call themselves "Christians," they are still BELOVED for the sakes of their ancestors, the Patriarchs! They are
FAMILY! And, God's agreement with them is that He will TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS! So, ALL Isra'el shall be rescued, not just the ones who believe in Him! When the Messiah returns, He's not going to separate FAMILY and decide whom He's going to rescue and whom He's going to ignore! He'll rescue them ALL! And, they are just as much included in "the least of these my brethren" as any "Christian" is!
