say tejek,
if israel refers to the chosen people of God, would you (or anyone else so inclined) do me a favor and interpret this passage for me?
But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: --Isaiah 65:11-15
the scripture is quite clear. it says the Lord God shall "call his servants by another name".
if the jews are the chosen, the servants of God, what is their new name? notice in the passage it is spoken of in the future tense, for the holy prophet Isaiah was writting seven centuries prior to the coming of Christ. ye shall, ye shall, ye shall, etc.
the scripture says that in the future God will slay his former servants, his former chosen, and their name shall be left for a curse, and he shall call his servants by another name.
well what is it? what is the new name of the servants of God? it can't be israel, that is not a new name, that goes back long before Isaiah. likewise with Zion or Jerusalem. Israel, the people of God, already went by these names. we can simply go back fourteen chapters in Isaiah for instance.
And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. --Isaiah 51:16
you see, as i told you, Zion is not just a literal mountain, or a literal city, or a literal temple as you defined it in your prior posts. Zion is a name/title for the people of God. likewise with Jerusalem and Israel.
since Christians are the people of God, not unbelieving antichrist Jews,
"They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." (Romans 9:8)
the name Zion, Jerusalem, Israel, Judah, etc. all belong to Christ and his bride--the Church, for they are one body.
now, as i have aptly demonstrated, Zion, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, etc. are not new names, and were in use for the people of God during and long before the time of Isaiah.
so if you are a "Jew" and claim to be a child of God simply based upon birthright ("And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father" Matthew 3:9)
then explain to me what your new name is? Isaiah spoke plainly to your fathers, saying God would call his servants by a new name.
WHAT IS IT?
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. --Acts 11:26
if you want to be a servant of God, you have to take on the name of your master. for that is what servants do, they take on the name of their master. bride's take on the name of their husband, and children (even adopted ones), take on the name of their father.
CHRISTians, the only true servants of God, take on the name of their master, CHRIST. this is the new name given to the new servants of God, who have been delivered the kingdom as heirs with Christ.
--Cyprian |
