The New Testament Gentiles and the House of Israel

Most people believe that the Gentiles are the "non-Jewish" people of the world -- is this true? It is also accepted by our "spiritually-enlightened" Christian world that what is left of the Israelites of old are now the people known as "jewish people." Is this also correct? We live in a deceived world and most practicing "Christians" simply do not care who the Gentiles really are. However, this subject is vitally important because it is directly linked to the death and sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah and the makeup of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God!

John D. Keyser

The subject of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, and the realization of the true identity of the "Gentiles," is a fascinating and challenging study. Without a doubt, this is probably the most misunderstood subject of the Bible by the modern-day so-called Christian churches. This article will explain what became of the Israelites that were taken captive under the Old Covenant -- and if they truly became "lost." Also, in parallel with this, we will reveal a completely different explanation of WHO the Gentiles are -- an explanation that is quite different to what the churches of today teach and preach.

The goal of this article is to allow the BIBLE -- YEHOVAH's Word -- explain and expose the stunning TRUTH concerning this very important subject. The Bible must be the final authority in answering the important question of WHO the Gentiles are. Who are these people that are mentioned so many times in the Word of YEHOVAH? What does the word "Gentiles" really mean?

Most of us, in the churches we attended over the years, were taught that these people -- the Gentiles -- were "non-Jewish" -- whatever that means. Also, it is almost totally accepted by our "spiritually-enlightened" Christian world that what is left of the Israelites of old are now the people known as "jewish people." We were told that since the death of the Messiah, the believing "Gentiles" automatically have salvation and the blessings of YEHOVAH. This "reasoning" goes something like this: It's good that the jewish people rejected the Messiah, otherwise the Gentiles would not have a chance for salvation. Expanding on this, we were told that anyone who is a "non-jewish" can be "adopted" into the family of YEHOVAH. By inference, we were also told that these "non-jewish people" or "Gentiles" could become "spiritual Israelites" or the "spiritual seed of Abraham." However, most of us never questioned these theories, or the fact that these phrases are nowhere to be found in the Bible! We blindly accepted these theories as being valid and truthful -- not realizing that our "learned" ministers and Bible "authorities" could be wrong!

This article will address these theories and explain the reason for the Biblical use of the word "jewish(s)." We will delve into the word "adoption" and show how this word is interpreted in the Bible -- it might surprise some of you to realize who and what people this word is correctly applied to.

Most believing Christians simply do not care -- or they "reason" that it does not matter who the Gentiles are. We will show that it matters VERY MUCH who the "Gentiles" are, because this understanding is directly linked to the death and sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah and the makeup of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. We must come to realize that we live in a deceived world; and the Bible is no longer regarded as the guide book for determining what is truth and what is not truth.

jewish people, Gentiles and Others

People seem to have a problem with the Biblical intent and meaning of the words "jewish people" and "Gentiles" as found in the context of scripture. We find the word "Gentiles" 121 times in the entire Bible -- and it is always plural except in two places. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word gowy is translated "Gentiles," and is No. 01471 in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

Usually this word means nation or people; however, it is interesting to see that this meaning could also apply to THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM AND ISRAEL -- as well as to non-Hebrew people (1a2, 3). Keep this in mind -- it is very important to understand as we progress through this article!

The only time that the word "Gentile" is found in the singular form in the Bible is in Romans 2:9-10. Here the apostle Paul referred to a "Gentile" on a personal and individual level instead of on a national basis.

Now, whenever the words "nation" or "nations" appear in the Bible, they could also be translated "Gentiles." It means the same thing and is the SAME word. The translators of our Bibles used the word that was best suited for a particular scripture. For instance, in Genesis 12:2, it wouldn't make much sense if this verse was translated "I will make of thee a great 'Gentile'" instead of "I will make of thee a great NATION." The translators used "nation" in this verse since it made better sense than "Gentile," and was best suited for this particular scripture. However, it is the SAME Hebrew word.

In the New Testament the word "ethnos" is used for "Gentiles" and in most cases means nation or people, which is the same meaning as that used in the Old Testament. The word "ethnos" is No. 1484 in Strong's Concordance --

1484 ethnos {eth'-nos} probably from 1486; TDNT 2: 364, 201; n n AV -- Gentiles 93, nation 64, heathen 5, people 2; 164

There is another kind of "Gentiles" to be found in the New Testament -- N0. 1672 in Strong's Concordance. This is "Hellen" instead of "ethnos" and is found some 27 times in the New Testament. Notice --

1672 Hellen {hel'-lane} from 1671; TDNT -- 2: 504, 277; n m AV -- Greek 20, Gentile 7; 27 1) a Greek either by nationality, whether a native of the main land or of the Greek islands or colonies 2) in a wider sense the name embraces all nations not jewish people that made the language, customs, and learning of the Greeks their own; the primary reference is to a difference of religion and worship.

The word "Hellen" has somewhat of a different meaning than "ethnos" and is generally translated "Greek," which refers to a Greek-speaking person or anyone that is not a "jewish." While it is not our purpose in this article to reveal who the Greek-speaking people were in the New Testament, it will become obvious who the Greek-speaking people were that were called "Gentiles."

The word "jewish(s)" can be very confusing the way the Bible translators have used it. The fact is the word "jewish(s)" cannot be properly interpreted, and therefore should never have been used by the translators. But since we have to deal with this word, we should let the Bible interpret the Bible and explain how and why this particular word is used. Biblically, the word "jewish(s)" can mean ANYONE dwelling in the land of Judea -- or anyone born an Israelite. What is interesting is that the word "jewish(s)" could mean people that could be called "Gentiles"! The bottom line is that Biblically speaking the word "jewish(s)" has a very broad and uncertain meaning.

Unfortunately, the translators decided to "improve" on the understanding of who the Gentiles are; and this explains why the word "jewish(s)" is used in the Bible. As a result, so-called Christianity today is mentally "programmed" to think that "jewish people" are not Gentiles -- and vise versa! We just saw that the definition of "Gentiles" in Strong's Concordance (#01471) INCLUDED the physical seed-line of Abraham and Israel with non-Hebrew people. This is very important! If we follow the guidelines of modern-day Christian thought, we would assume that the "jewish people" cannot possibly be called Gentiles.

In order to be consistent with the Bible, it is important to understand how and why the words "jewish people" and "Gentiles" are used in scripture. For example, take Acts 2:5, where it states that there were "jewish people" dwelling at Jerusalem out of every "nation" under heaven. Notice: "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem jewish people, devout men, out of every nation under heaven (KJV)." The word "nation" is this verse is No. 1484 in Strong's Concordance -- which is the same word used for "Gentiles"! This means, by implication, that Biblically speaking these jewish people at Jerusalem came from the Gentiles! Now, if the jewish people are only of Israel, how could they come out of every nation "under heaven"? Biblically speaking, the word "jewish(s)" could be taken in a geographical sense, and therefore should read "Judean" -- which indicates anyone living in the land of Judea.

Also, the word "jewish(s)" could simply be translated as "Israelite(s)" plain and simple. If you check Acts 21:39 you will find that the apostle Paul called himself a "jewish" of Tarsus: "But Paul said, 'I am a man [which am] a jewish OF TARSUS, [a city] in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people (KJV)'" We know from Romans 11:1 that Paul was an ISRAELITE born of the tribe of Benjamin; therefore Paul can correctly be called a "jewish" of the Israelite seed of Abraham. However, he could NOT be called a geographical "jewish" of Tarsus because the city of Tarsus was nowhere near the land of Judea. As a result, Paul could not be called a "jewish" in the same sense as the Judeans could.

The Messiah was born of the tribe of Judah and can therefore be correctly called a "jewish" -- both geographically or racially. There is also another Biblical application for the word "jewish people," and this meaning is used several times in the New Testament by the Messiah himself. We will discuss this later.

Notice now another interesting passage in the New Testament: "And they said, CORNELIUS the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of GOOD REPORT AMONG ALL THE NATION OF THE jewish people, was warned by God by an holy angel to send for thee into his home, and to hear words of thee" -- Acts 10:22 (KJV). This is noteworthy because Cornelius was obviously INCLUDED with the nation (Gentiles) of the "jewish people." Why would the "jewish people" want a good report of this man if he were not included with them? According to this passage Cornelius could be called a "jewish" since he was no doubt a citizen of the "nation of the jewish people." It is almost blasphemous according to the mind-set of modern-day "Christianity" to even consider that Cornelius was a "jewish." We will develop this thought later.

We have seen -- according to Strong's Concordance -- and also from the Scriptures -- that the Gentiles could also include the Hebrew seed of Abraham (Israel). Therefore keep in mind, as we progress through this article, that the Gentiles could also Biblically be called "jewish people."

[link to www.hope-of-israel.org]