Bootstrap wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2024 10:17 am
All of the disciples were Jewish. When Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit there. The first leaders of the Church were all Jewish.
As Voltaire said, "If you wish to converse with me, define your terms."
A "Jew" can mean:
1. A member of the Tribe of Judah.
2. A person living in Judea, who has adopted the local customs.
3. A person that follows the Talmud/Oral Law, or "Traditions of the Elders", which was created by the Pharisees.
Christ was #1 a member of the Tribe of Judah, He #2 lived in Judea, but He denounced the Talmud/Tradition of the Elders in Matthew 15:1-20 as being the "doctrines of men", so He was not #3.
Paul claimed to be of the tribe of Benjamin, so no to #1. He lived in Judea, but claimed Tarsus, so "maybe" on #2. And he claimed to be "all things to all men", but said, under oath in a court of Law before the High Priest that he was indeed a Pharisee. (Acts 23:6) So yes or "sometimes" to #3, at least when Paul was "all things to all Pharisees". So sometimes Paul was a Jew, and sometimes he wasn't, and he admits this deceptive practice in 1st Corinthians 9:20-22.
King Herod the Great, and all of his relatives that ruled Palestine were not only "not members of the Tribe of Judah". they weren't even Israelites. Herod the Great was born in Idumea, or "Edom", and was a descendant of Esau. He and his relatives were forcibly converted to Judaism by John Hyrcanus in 100 BC during the period of the Maccabees. People like Herod would claim Abraham as their father, but never Jacob/Israel as their father. So when you see the statements like "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man:" (john 8:33), it is talking about the Herodians, or Edomite Jews.
The children of Jacob/Israel were in bondage to Pharaoh, but not the children of Esau. But both were the children of Abraham.
So no to #1 on Herod, yes to #2 as the Herod family did live in Judea and adopted "Judaism", and yes to #3 as they would have adopted the Talmud/Oral Law if it benefitted them politically, so probably they did.
So what about the Jews of today? There are Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Oriental or Mizrahi Jews, and many other converts to Judaism. The full list is here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... to_Judaism
Are they all of the Tribe of Judah? No. That is impossible.
Do they live in Judea? Some do.
Do they follow the Talmud / Oral Law? Yes. Definitely yes!
The Talmud is what binds the religion of Judaism together today, and defines Modern Judaism. This is the same Talmud or "Traditions of the Elders" that Christ cursed in Matthew 15 as being the doctrines of men.
So to say that "All of the disciples of Christ were Jewish" is deceptive. The disciples of Christ were not Talmud followers, like the Jews of today. The followers of Christ kept the Torah, which is the Laws of God, but not the Talmud, which is the doctrines of men. Christ told His followers that the Torah or God's Laws would be here in effect as long as heaven and earth are here. (Matthew 5:17-20). Modern Churchianity does not follow what Christ said on God's Law lasting forever, but lean more to the doctrines of men, so they are closer to Judaism than they are to True Christianity.
As far as the Gentiles entering the True Christian Church, here is what Christ said:
Mark 11:17 - My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.
Christ was quoting Isaiah 56, which describes how the Gentiles will be added to the True Christian Church in the time of Christ:
Isaiah 56:(6) Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
(7) Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
(8) The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
Keeping the Sabbath Day and the Covenant is how Gentiles are added to the church. (Acts 13:42-44, Acts 15:21) This is why Constantine had to destroy the Sabbath day, to keep the Gentiles from entering the True Christian Church. The Anabaptists Andreas Fischer and Oswald Glaidt understood the importance of the Sabbath Day. The modern Anabaptists do not.
So don't tell people that "Jesus was a Jew", or that He and His followers were "Jewish" as they will think you are saying that Christ followed the Talmud. That is not true. Judaism is a false religion. That is why they don't make Jews like Jesus anymore. These are two separate religions.
And that anyone was "astonished" that the Gentile received the Holy Spirit" - well then they should have studied Isaiah 56, as Christ did. God had this in mind all along.
"He replaced the teachings of Christ with his own opinions, and gave us a religion based on the doctrines of men."