Yahwshua's Ekklesia/Kehilah still remains an unsolved mystery to many---and sadly to some people who don't understand it, one of heretic proportions when juxtaposed to the identity of Yhwh's Israel. They fail to "see" what Torah actually states.
Christianity, "thanks to the apostate" Kehilah in early Rome ---which we all know and history reaveals later turned into the Roman Universal Church---has appropriated itself of the title "ekklesia" and from there it has been passed on in history to its apostate protestant daughters generation after generation---all of who proudly and erroneously call themselves the true, or spiritual, Israel of today.
Judaism, on the other hand and likewise as confused a religion as christianity is, also mistakes the identity of Yhwh's elect, and erroneously conceives Torah-less efrayimite christianity as being the assembly of the faithful mentioned in the Berit Hadasha, reason enough for them to discard the entire Renewed Covenant and for claiming to be themselves Yhwh's true Israel. After all, they figure---even unconverted Jews still acknowledge the Tanak that unconverted Efrayim has discarded as Word of Yhwh Elohim! But of course this is not enough, IN THE EYES OF YHWH, to support each of their claims. Christianity and Judaism are BOTH ENTIRELY WRONG when it comes to establishing true modern Israel's identity.
But while the true identity of who Yhwh's Israel really is remains a mystery to unconverted jews and efrayimites (who seem to waste their time and precious lives blaming each other endlessly for who it was that truly disobeyed WHEN BOTH IN FACT DID), all through the Berit Hadasha the converted faithful read and understand that Yahwushua's Kehilah (also translated as "ekklesia," "assembly," "congregation," or "church" in the Berit Hadasha) is the actual true body of called-out brethren from Israel's Twelve Tribes living in the diaspora or end-time's Babylon that Yhwh calls his people. To them, it's no mystery who real "Israel's" identity is. They know beyond any doubt that Israel is themselves.
But does this mean that the Kehilah/Ekklesia REPLACED physical Israel?
Is the Kehilah/Ekklesia mentioned in the Berit Hadasha the christian church? Is efrayim's christendom's "churchianity" an adequate and Yhwh-approved subsitute and spiritual Israel?
No...absolutely not! Nowhere in the Kodesh Word of Yhwh are such things stated nor implied!
However, the Kodesh Scripture makes plain and clear that Yahwshua's Kehilah/Assembly is indeed composed of Yhwh's faithful from all twelve tribes of scattered Israel and serves as the gathering body for all the elect "called-out" from the four corners of the world for a specific period of time: due to necessity, and until the time known as the fullness of the Gentiles.
Before proceeding, and to help our efrayimite and jewish readers correctly understand the situation and roles of Israel and the Kehilah, we must first acknowledge that here is a very serious and ongoing problem with Yhwh's physical Israel. And the problem is nothing less that all of Israel's Twelve Tribes have acted like whores even worse than their own neighbors, and that due to their iniquity they were ALL thrown into dispersion among the nations and are waiting for redemption only possible through sincere teshuva. Yhwh's calling is no other than to obedience, to RETURN to Torah, to the Law, TO OBEY IT AND LIVE BY IT as before.
By ignoring this, and without true repentance and fully embracing Torah AND Yahwushua as a sign of their return to obedience, they will remain deceived and blinded indefintely. Let's read Lukke 21:20-26 to grasp the times of the fulfillment of the "gentiles."
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days!
For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."
The times of the Gentiles mentioned here speaks to the time from when Israel is led away captive into all nations until Jerusalem is no more trodden down by them.
This time ends when Jerusalem is no more trodden down by the Gentiles. We know this to be at the very end of this age, when Yahwshua returns to earth in glory for His Kehilah and takes the world's kingdoms. I should specify that this would be at least one of the major fulfillments of this prophecy, because it will be fulfilled totally at the end of the 7th millenium as the Ruach Ha Kodesh has had me explain before in some of the messages regarding the Resurrections). These times mentioned are the times of nations in great distress, of the very unusual signs in the heavens, of earthquakes and tsunamis and when the powers of the heavens will be shaken also spoken of by Matthew and John. Until then, the wicked of the earth are in charge.
Jews and christians (representing un-called Yahudim and Efrayimites, respectively) might debate over this forever and each call themselves the true elect ... or they might say they are the true ekklesia/kehilah as christianity has done for the past 1,500 years ... they might say they are "spiritual Israel" or true physical Israel ... they might say Torah was given them as jews claim ---and they might say whatever they want and convince who they want that they are today's Israel--- BUT THEY WILL NEVER CONVINCE YHWH TO CHANGE HIS WORD AND MAKE HIM AGREE THAT THEY ARE THE TRUE KEHILAH OF YAHWSHUA DESCRIBED IN SCRIPTURES.
These irrefutable facts are precisely the things that both ancient christianity and judaism---and all the modern religions derived from them---deny to this day, and is the reason why due to their blindness they suffer from this "mistaken identity"! Let's briefly go back in history to where this mistaken identity began, and whu they do not understand the scriptural term of "the fullness of the gentiles."
As we well should know, the northern kingdom (also known as the Houses/Kingdoms of Israel or Efrayim given "first-born rights" by Yhwh through Yaacob) disobeyed first and were consequently enslaved and dispersed by Assyria in 721 BC.
Approximately one century later, her sister the southern Kingdom/House of Yahudah followed her older sister's steps and was taken captive by Babylon. Even though they were released 70 years later by King Cyrus, the ruler of the new Persian empire that had conquered Babylon a little earlier, they again disobeyed as a people when the majority rejected and murdered Yahwshua the Mashiach that had been sent them by Yhwh.
This horrendous subsequent event of rebellion against Yhwh again provoked Him to ire and resulted in the ransack and destruction of Jerusalem 40 years later by the Romans. From then on, the Jews, half of Benjamin and the portion of the levites who lived among them were also removed from their land and dispersed. This was their punishment once again! To live like the heathen until and if and unless converted!
Even though many jews returned to the land in 1948 after the modern political and secular nation-state called "Israel" was founded, most jews, levites and benjaminites today are still living dispersed among the nations, and their vast majority live secular, un-holy and unaware uncaring and indifferent lives among the heathen... (One does not have to figure out for very long that anyone living among the heathen and behaving exactly like them is equally considered "heathen" by Yhwh.)
The dilemma of Israel that ensued after both kingdoms had been removed from their own land and taken captive to live as foreigners and sojourners (in strange lands dominated by people of alien "gods") for more than 2,000 years, resulted from the obvious additional spiritual and physical contamination these Twelve Tribes of Israel were exposed to and subjected-to during all that time.
The Kingdoms of Efrayim and Yahudah lost their relationshop with their Abba Yhwh for centuries and thus lost their true identity and position in Scriptural prophecy. Naturally, all these events had been prophecied earlier, and sadly the majority of the people of Israel did not listen to the warnings and thus fulfilled all of prophecy's negative events---which I may add, WE ARE NOT TO TAKE AS EXAMPLES AND REPEAT AGAIN.
Yhwh in His infinite mercy at least provided that Torah wasn't completely lost and made the Jews the keepers or guardians of Torah. However, this is not to be equated with OBEYORS of Torah. Unconverted and dispersed yahudim were merely the "keepers" or Torah, meaning they guarded and preserved Torah. Obviously they DID NOT OBEY IT when they murdered Yawhshua and have not obeyed it while they continue denying Him. Neither did they obey it when they were forced to convert to christianity by the italian and spanish inquisitions and forsook it. But through one sect or another they fulfilled their mission rather well in preserving the ancient Scriptures during all these years.
Thus given the circumstances, and "due to necessity"---since none of the Twelve Tribes since (nor in their present state of dispersion) have been kodesh, and until the time known as the fullness of the Gentiles, that Yhwh through His beloved Son has founded the Kehilah to serve as the place of Assemblying/Congregating those "called-out" and faithful ones from contaminated "mainstream Israel," to serve as Yhwh's kodeshim in the future.
It is specifically through the Kehilah, that in the future Israel will be chosen and restored in the Millenial Kingdom. It is through the Kehilah that the kodeshim are being edified. It is through the Kehilah that the 144,000 future "Kings and Priests" under Yahwhshua are being edified today and it is through the Kehilah that the Two Witnesses of Revelation are being raised and trained! And I will add that one of the main responsibilities of the true end-time Kehilah is to reveal Yhwh's two end-time witnesses, and IT IS DOING SO.
The Kehilah, according to the Kodesh Word of Yhwh, is the ONLY recognized and official "people" of Yhwh. Nobody who is not called-out by Yhwh through His Son Yahwshua can proceed to actual repentance and belong to the body where the other converted ones assemble. Nobody, be him jewish, efrayimite or from the nations, who is not in obedience to both Torah and Yahwshua, is given the Holy Spirit/Ruach Ha Kodesh, which is one of the four "seals" of Yhwh upon His people to distinguish them from the heathen. The other three being the Commandments but especially the Shabbat, the Kodesh names of the Father and the Son, and the testimony of Yawhshua.
In the Kehilah "there is no jew, nor greek nor gentile." Whichever way anyone may wish to translate this passage, it will basically mean that in the Kehilah---once converted and belonging to Yahwshua---to Him everyone is the same. Everyone is given ONE and the SAME Ruach (Yhwh's Ruach Ha Kodesh), one same Law, one same mind, one same sound doctrine and understanding, one same promise, and one eventual destiny: future restoration.
The Kehilah gathers and joins together all RE-BORN and CONVERTED Israel from their dispersion under our Master and Rabi Yahwshua, along with all those non-Israelites gentiles from among the nations, as a remnant according to the election by Yhwh's grace.
Yhwh Himself, by His grace, by His divine will, elects those whom He wishes to "call" back to obedience, and works with those "called-out ones" who remain submissive and faithful until He makes them wholly KODESH. These are the same ones that Yahwshua terms true followers/talmidim, true "sons of Abraham," and that Yhwh calls His true "sons" that are "guided by the Spirit." Below we hear that Israel (in this case Yahudim israelites) are not saved simply because of being Yahudim, israelites or descendants of Abraham. In the below passages the Rabis are addressed---the TEACHERS of the religion of the Yahudim, and are told them THEY ARE NOT SONS OF YHWH nor of ABRAHAM being that they are blood-descendants of Abraham. That alone (unless converted) does not make them heirs to the promise!
"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was immersing, he said to them: “ You brood of vipers! ... And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones Yhwh can raise up children for Abraham." (Matt 3:7-9)
And directly from Yahwshua's mouth:
“If Yhwh were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from Yhwh. I have not come on my own; Yhwh sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father Ha-Satan, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. ... Whoever belongs to Yhwh hears what Yhwh says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to Yhwh.” (John 8:42-47)
To Yhwh, those who "hear" and "obey" Him and His Son ARE the true SONS and THE TRUE ISRAEL, not just physical israelites simply because of their genetics...nor because "of the flesh:"
"For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed shall be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of Yhwh: but the children of the promise are counted as the seed."
This, the Kehilah, is the same "place" where all the kodeshim (the true "children of the promise" under the Renewed Pact) have been coming to and gathering at --- for centuries --- ever since Yahwshua poured out His Spirit on the first Shavuot after His resurrection.
Upon His return, Yahwshua will gather the remainder of the saved ones from the four corners of the earth into His Kehilah, and through His Kehilah will restore Israel's sovereignity over the nations. Yahwshua will first harvest 144,000 (12,000 from each of the twelve tribes as mentioned in Revelation), and then He will harvest a "great multitude" that the apostle John describes as "coming out of the Great Tribulation." This occurs very late in the Sixth Millenium---our era, our times.
Once everyone is in the kingdom and executing their assigned positions, then Yhwh will have restored the soverignity to Israel. Many call this restoring the "dispensation" to Israel. Paul/Shaul refers to this mystery in Romans 9 through 11. Specifically in this letter, he contrasts the position of Israel and the Ekklesia. Here Shaul makes clear that Israel (Efrayim and Yahudah) have not been permanently discarded due to their disobedience. Yeremyah had prophecied this earlier in 33:26:
"....then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants ofAbraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’”
We read above that Yhwh would reject all Israel, but later would have compassion (show mercy) and restore them. Yhwh would not choose any normal human son as ruler, because He had already chosen Yahwshua before the foundation of the earth. Yahwshua had already BEEN CHOSEN.
Shaul gives the same testimony saying they have not stumbled so that they will all stay "down" in their disobedience. He himself serves as proof of this stumbling and being called, washed and uplifted ("restored" from being a hypocritical pharisee before), being that HE IS A TRUE ISRAELITE (from Benjamin) and he has not been discarded---quite the contrary: he has been called and chosen! He is proof of what he is stating! (If you have a Bible version translated from the Greek texts, instead of ekklesia it will say "Church" or "Assembly." But keep in mind that the original hebrew word in all these Berit Hadasha passages is "kehilah"). But let's read on, noting the underlined text:
1 "I say then, has Yhwh discarded His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is profitable for the world, and their failure "riches" for the Gentiles, how much more (will it be) their fullness! For if their being discarded is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for Yhwh is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut-off of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles HAS COME IN."Romans 11:1, 5, 11-12, 15, 17, 19, 23-25.
The fullness of the Gentiles is a referenced to the blindness of Israel. They'll be blinded until the fullness of the Gentiles. However it is very important to note that whereas Israel and especially Yahudah have been blinded, the converted gentiles obviously have not.
When was the Kingdom of Israel blinded? When they disobeyed and hardened their hearts against Yhwh ignoring His prophets and were taken captive by the assyrians to lose their national identity in Yhwh and His Torah. When were the jews blinded? At the triumphal entry as we read below:
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."Luke 19:41-44
Yahwshua prophecied they would be blinded. He also made reference to Jerusalem being trodden down and surrounded by heathen armies as Lukkestated in Chapter 20 beginning in verse 21 that we read at the beginning. Further in ver. 44, He states they know not prophecy. Naturally they don't, because the spirit of prophecy is directly dependent on the belief and obedience to Yahwshua as we learn from the Book of Revelation!
There is further proof of Yahwshua's blinding curse upon Yahuda's religious leaders and their followers later on in Matt. 23:13-40. He righteously insults them more than 10 times:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees......Woe to you, blind guides! .... ...You blind fools!.. ...Blind Pharisee!"
They will be unblinded when the fullness of the Gentiles is come in. We just read this in the letter to the Roman Kehilah.
There is a point when the body of Yahwshua (His Kehilah, the bride) has reached it's fullness. We know this because Yhwh shuts the door to the marriage and no more are added to the bride after the marriage. This is dealt with inMatthew 25:1-13 (click to read), the kingdom parable of the 10 virgins.
The triumphal entry was 14,000 days before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. If these two times started at slightly different times, can they be referring to the same thing? The Times of the Gentiles and the Fullness of the Gentiles speak to basically the same thing, but of its two different timings and classes, worldly Gentiles and saved Gentiles respectively...and "gentiles" here includes those of Efrayim and Yahudah beaving like heathen among them.
In the final 7-year period or "70th week" described by Daniel, Yhwh again begins to work with Israel but again only through the Kehilah to test the nations. Obvioulsy, unconverted jews nor efrayimites cannot help convert the unconverted nations nor their own blinded peoples! Here Shaul/Paul makes a distinction between the mystery, the kehilah/ekklesia/true-church, and mainstream blinded Israel. Let's read it again:
"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles HAS COME IN."
He refers to the limitation due to Israel’s blindness, “until” the “fullness of the Gentiles”. Once the Gentile period is complete or full, and everyone from the nations (including Israel's modern descendants) are INTO Yahwshua's Kehilah, Israel will be restored, not before. This will happen in the Kingdom, during the 7th millenium, so that the nations (gentiles who are also blinded) who did not know Yahwshua during this time might know Him and be saved. At the end of the Seventh millenium all humanity will have had a chance to know truth and obey it, and there will be no more gentiles. The prophecy's final fulfillment will have taken place.
"Post-tribulational" is a defective, "limping" false doctrine that views both Israel AND the entire Ekklesia/true-Church going through the Great Tribulation, whereas in reality--- in the Kodesh Scripture--- part of the Kehilah is spared the latter and worse 1,260 days of the 7 year period or 70th week! For those who adhere to the pre-tribulation doctrine, they view the restoration of Israel at a misconstrued "rapture point" even before the 70th week begins. But the 70th week actually begins with the “He shall confirm” (Dan. 9:27) “an agreement” between Israel and “many” regarding Temple worship, and not before nor after.
The fullness of the gentiles (IN THIS ERA) takes place when the final and last called-out person from efrayim and from the nations has by the grace of Yhwh entered Yahwshua's Kehilah---which is to say, been grafted into the cultivated olive tree---and for some of those brethren of the "great multitude" this event does not occur until late during the Great Tribulation when just prior to Yawhshua's return, at the sound of the 7th Trumpet, "those who are still alive will be transformed in the blinking of an eye"---so the fullness of the gentiles will not be over until then.
The Kehilah---representing the cultivated olive tree Shaul mentioned--- exists so that everyone (Israelite from any of the 12 Tribes or gentile from the nations) called-out can join in and partake of the root and fatness which is Yahwshua.
Who are those called, who does the calling, and what is the basis of the calling?
As we read earlier in the letter to the Roman Kehilah 11:1 it is by Yhwh's grace. His grace is extended by MERCY. And Shaul in Romans 9 talks about the same topic:
"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of Yhwh according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calls...
....What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with Yhwh? Yhwh forbid. For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of Yhwh that shows mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Therefore He has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens."
Our Abba Yhwh chooses to call-out of Israel's iniquity whoever He pleases by His mercy and grace, and keeps in blindness and sin whom He chooses.
Blessed be Yahwshua our Mashiach and our Father Yhwh who by their grace and mercy have called us out of the nations and brought us to their Kehilah of the Kodeshim through which the sovereignity of Israel is finally to be restored!