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Note: All the Old
Testament quotations do not point to the two becoming one entity, but
do serve to support the fact that the O.T. refers to the
calling of the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Other O.T. passages
point to the two becoming one in a single N.T. entity (the church).
Old Testament
Point #1
There is O.T. support for salvation coming to the Gentiles as well as
the Jews
1. Deut 32:21 Paul in Rom 10:19 makes it clear
that even Moses referred to the calling in of the Gentiles when he said
"I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will
make them angry by a nation that has no understanding."
2. Isaiah 42:6 Christ was to be a light to the
Gentiles as well. ""I, the LORD, have called you in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep
you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for
the Gentiles, ..." (Also see Isa 45:22; 52:10,15; Jer 3:17;
Joel 2:28; Micah 4:1-4; Hab 2:14; Hag 2:7; Zech 2:11; Mal 1:11, etc.)
Point #2 There is
O.T. support for Jews and Gentiles being and becoming a part of one (N.T.)
body (i.e. the church)
1. Gen 17:5 Abraham was to be the father of many
"nations" (His offspring and body would include the
Gentiles) "No longer will you be called Abram, your name will
be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations."
Paul confirms this in
Rom 4:17 saying Abraham is the father of all of us who possess faith
(this includes Gentiles) Also see Ps
2:8. (Unless one believes Abraham has 2 bodies, then Jew and
Gentile must be part of the same entity.)
2. Amos
9:11-12 Clearly this passage teaches the two were to become
one. That's the very argument that was brought before the apostles
at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. James in Acts 15:16-18
uses Amos 9:11-12 to support the fact that the Jews and Gentiles were to
come together into one entity, the church. In verse 15 he states
that the "words of the prophets are in agreement with
this". (Amos 9:11-12 ""In that day I
will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken
places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they
may possess the remnant of Edom and all
the nations that bear my name, declares the LORD, who will do these
things."
3. Ps
16:9-10 In a Christological sense, one can work backwards to see
that those who are saved (even today) are a part of one
body (Christ's). Ps 16:9-10 "Therefore my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because
you will not abandon me to the grave..." In other words, if
this promise now belongs to both Jew and Gentile and it does thru our
unity with Christ, then we are both a part of the body referred to here.
Summary: It
is true, God's plans in the O.T. are not as clearly understood as
when they are completely unveiled and explained in the N.T.;
however, the seed form of those plans are there, even the plans God
has for the church, one entity consisting of both Jews and Gentiles, and
the Apostles bring these plans to light as they interpret them in
light of N.T. events.
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