Jew
Who is Biblically Entitled to that Name?
By Dr. Ken
Matto
Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law,
and makest thy boast of God, (Romans 2:17)
There is great confusion in Christianity concerning the
name Jew and who has the right to that name.
One thing that must always be kept in mind is that everything changed at
the cross. Christians always
neglect that great dividing line in history for two reasons: 1) they never study
their Bibles, and 2) since 1948 there has been an attempt to once again bring
the church under the ceremonial law which God himself abolished in 33 A.D. when
the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
Then in 70 A.D. God completely destroyed the nation of Israel because
they were the keepers of the Mosaic Law which is no longer to be observed.
Between 33 and 70 A.D. ancient Judah continued to reject
the Lord Jesus Christ as the way to Heaven and so for those 37 years they
continued to engage in the ceremonial law.
Even within the modern church there are movements by people who think
that keeping the law of God will happen on an international scale.
You can tell who these people are because they try to get you to observe
the Sabbath which is part of the ceremonial law.
One single nation had the law of God and they couldn’t go a month without
committing some type of religious sacrilege.
Can you imagine an entire world trying to keep the law of God?
It could never happen.
Within many of the churches you will see things like an
Israeli flag, they partake of Seder suppers, and wrongly interpret the Bible to
force the belief that the Bible speaks about a rebirth of ancient Israel.
Then there are prophecy and theology books loaded with the false
teachings of Zionism which diverts Christians from the worship of God to the
worship of Israel. Modern Israel
has become a modern idol in the church today and that is because pastors do not
study their Bibles, instead they read books about the Bible and scour the
internet for sermons and those sermons are normally biased by well-financed
theological puppets of the Christian Zionist movement.
Once again if we are to find out the truth about who has
a right to the name Jew, we must go the Bible alone without any bias from
Zionist Christians or any books.
The term “Jew” is a shortened term for the name “Judah” which is one of the
twelve tribes which Jacob named in Genesis 49.
The Lord Jesus Christ came through the tribe of Judah.
For
it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
(Hebrews 7:14)
There are 14 tribes because Ephraim and Manasseh were
added later which means everyone outside of Judah was not entitled to use the
term “Jew” because they were of the other tribes.
So those of Asher were not Jews and those of Naphtali were not Jews.
God described them as “the Children of Israel.”
The term “children of Israel” is used 648 times in 604 verses.
That term would have accurately described the descendants of Jacob whose
name was changed to Israel. It
would have described their descendancy as being children of Israel or Jacob
making them family descendants which would take into account all fourteen
tribes.
As I mentioned previously everything changed at the
cross and many pastors and theologians reject that great dividing line.
With the cross, many definitions have also changed and that includes the
names Israel and Jew. This is very
important because if we bypass the cross and the changes it made in history and
definitions, then we will continue to believe the lies the dispensationalists
and the Christian Zionists keep pouring into the heads of naïve and unlearned
Christians.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but
Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast
prevailed. (Genesis 32:28)
The name change from Jacob to Israel is very important
because it signifies a work of grace in the heart of Jacob.
The name “Jacob” means “supplanter” and supplanter means “one who
eradicates or supplies a substitute for. And
he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two
times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my
blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? (Genesis 27:36)
We know Jacob’s name fit perfectly because he and his mother schemed to
take away the blessing from Esau which he did.
He substituted himself for Esau.
However, Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel” by God himself.
The name “Israel” means “Prince with God.”
So Jacob’s great dividing line was when God changed his name from
“Supplanter” to “Prince with God.”
So like Jacob, the true believer goes from “unbeliever” to “Prince or Princess
with God.” So what we see in
Genesis 32:28 is Jacob’s salvation.
After the ten tribes were removed permanently from the
land by Assyria in 721 B.C., the only tribe left was Judah and Benjamin.
Benjamin was located in the southern part of Judah.
The first time the term “Jews” is used in the Bible is 2 Kings 16:6 which
would place it about 732 B.C. At
that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from
Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. (2 Kings
16:6) The timeline coincided
with the taking of the ten northern tribes which means after that the term
“Jews” was fitting since only Judah and Benjamin was left.
So from the time of the reign of Ahaz to the time of the
cross, the term “Jew” was apropos and fit the people of ancient Israel.
Now let us progress to the time which comes after the cross.
When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and was
resurrected, it spelled the end of the Mosaic system which used animal
sacrifices as a means to cover a person’s sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ removed sin from the soul of the believer.
Now a new relationship to the Father began.
The term “Jew” now took on a new meaning in the New Testament.
The nation of Israel from its inception was a type or figure of the
permanent body of believers. They
were a small country among the many empires surrounding them.
It is like today, the true body of believers is surrounded by many
unbelievers.
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and
the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:28-29)
Moses was still recording the law of God in Deuteronomy when the LORD gave him
this portion found in Deuteronomy 30:6.
It is a promise to the true believers within the nation of Israel.
Remember, ancient Israel was a foreshadow of the visible church because
in Israel there were many who were not believers such as King Saul, Dathan, or
Korah and others. These unbelievers
gave the true believers a hard time such as Moses or King David.
So in Israel there were both believers and unbelievers.
When we make that distinction, we will better understand verses like
Deuteronomy 30:6. In the visible
church today, there are both believers and unbelievers.
It is the unbelievers in the local churches which cause most of the
problems simply because they are still in the kingdom of Satan while sitting in
a church congregation with the Lord’s children.
In every local church there is both light and darkness.
The Lord called them wheats and tares.
Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather
ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather
the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 13:30)
Back to Deuteronomy 30:6. That
verse is a picture of salvation because the circumcision of the heart is a
synonym for a person becoming saved.
Once a person becomes saved, they have the Holy Spirit indwelling them
allowing them to love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul because
they are in a regenerative state.
This personal regeneration or salvation will give them the ability to live and
that means live forever. Within that verse is also the promise that it will be
extended to their seed.
And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
This is not a promise that because they are part of national Israel that
automatically their physical descendants will be saved.
The seed is speaking about the Elect within the nation of Israel and also
the Elect to be saved in Gentile countries after Pentecost and the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
In connection with Deuteronomy 30:6, we read Romans 2:28-29.
We already saw that the name “Jew” is a shortened term for “Judah.”
It was a requirement in Israel that all the males be circumcised
according to the law of Sinai. This
included those who would become true believers as well as those who were
unbelievers. In Romans 2:28 Paul
describes the true Jew or the true believer.
First of all, Paul states plainly that a person is not a Jew who is one
outwardly nor one that is circumcised in the flesh.
Remember what the Lord said.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the
flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and
they are life. (John 6:63) The
flesh profits nothing because physical circumcision could not save those
Israelites who opposed Moses. Physical circumcision also has lost its meaning
since Christ went to the cross. It
was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant but now since Christ went to the cross, it has
no significance. So for nearly 1500
years there was physical circumcision but now we invoke Deuteronomy 30:6 in
conjunction with Romans 2:29.
Paul states that a person is not a true Jew by means of outward physical
circumcision but he is a true Jew who is one on the inside and having their
heart circumcised in the spirit and not in the letter of the law.
The true Jew is one who has become saved and has the indwelling Holy
Spirit within them. Paul states that a
true Jew is one who is born again of the Spirit of God under the eternal
covenant of Grace in contrast to the covenant that Israel made with God at Mt.
Sinai which they could not keep. Only Christ was able to fulfill every demand of
God’s righteous law and those who are in Christ, are as those who had kept the
law in its entirety and perfectly. Thus because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are
now members of Spiritual Israel or the Israel of God. This is borne out in quite
a number of other verses:
(Isaiah 45:17) But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting
salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
(Romans 9:6) Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For
they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
(Galatians 3:7) Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
the same are the children of Abraham.
(Galatians 3:16) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is
Christ.
(Galatians 6:16) And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them,
and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
(Ephesians 2:12) That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world:
It is very important to keep in mind that Christ came through the tribe of Judah
which makes every true Christian a true Jew whether they are born in the USA or
New Zealand. The true Christian is
under the covenant of Grace whose heart has been circumcised by the spirit of
God. So Romans 2:28-29 gives clear
evidence that the definition of the name “Jew” changed after the cross and now
it describes every true believer in Christ without regard for nationality or
lineage. Then in the final phrase
of Romans 2:29, it speaks about our praise is not of men but of God.
That phrase is better understood from John 15:25.
But
this cometh to pass, that the
word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a
cause. (John 15:25) Christians
will be hated by the world but will be loved by God because we love his Son and
are redeemed unto salvation.
Every verse in the previous list speaks of the eternal covenant of Grace which
comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the eternal Israel which God
speaks of in Isaiah 45:17. The true Jew is the one who is saved through the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was of the tribe of Judah. Those who are of the physical tribe
of Judah who boast in their circumcision are as those who are uncircumcised, or
unsaved. Those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ are of the spiritual tribe of
Judah, which is the eternal Israel or the true Jew who is circumcised in the
heart.
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers,
beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh. (Philippians 3:2-3)
Here is
one of the most revealing verses in Scripture concerning the Christian. Normally
circumcision is attributed to Israel but here Paul is giving a new definition of
it. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of
your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. (Deuteronomy 10:16) As far back as
Deuteronomy, we read about circumcising the foreskin of the heart and that is an
allusion to salvation by grace, which Moses was a recipient of. This means that
salvation did not come through physical circumcision but came through the
circumcision of the heart. Now back to Philippians 3:3 where Paul now states
that the Christian is the circumcision and the result is that we worship God in
the spirit, whereas Israel had worshipped under the Mosaic law and that was
according to the strictures of the law. Those under grace are the only ones who
worship God in the Spirit. God
is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) Those
who do not possess the Spirit of God will be unable to worship Him because they
are unsaved AKA spiritually dead.
Another aspect of this verse which is important is that Paul is changing the
meaning of “circumcision.” He is now calling the believers “THE circumcision.”
Notice the definite article “the” which means there are no others. Just because
one still practices physical circumcision does not mean that God recognizes it.
The age of the ceremonial law is over because it was fulfilled in Christ. The
only circumcision that God now recognizes is that of spiritual circumcision
which is salvation by grace. Paul is now referring to Christians as spiritual
Israel.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Colossians 2:10-11)
Since all
the fullness of deity dwells in Christ, the believer is complete in Him. The
word “complete” is in the perfect tense which means that we have become totally
complete in Christ. Every single believer no matter how strong or how weak they
are in body are complete in Christ. One way we know we are complete is that our
souls have been qualified for Heaven, that is, eternal life. How much more
complete can we get than to live eternally? Then Paul tells us that Christ is
the head of rule and the head of all authority. This means that Christ is not
only the head of the church, but He rules over all earthly kingdoms and kings.
Circumcise
therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. (Deuteronomy
10:16)
And the
LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the
LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
(Deuteronomy 30:6)
As we
previously saw back in Deuteronomy 10:16 and 30:6, God was already giving
insights about His salvation program. Physical circumcision was the sign of the
covenant that one belonged to God but it was only a temporary foreshadow of the
circumcision of the heart which was a description of salvation by grace.
Deuteronomy 30:6 states that the Lord God Himself will circumcise the heart,
that is, He will be the one who will be doing the saving. As we read further in
that verse we see that this circumcision of the heart will enable the believer
to love the Lord God with all their heart and soul, so that they may live. It is
referencing eternal life when it says “that thou mayest live.” Salvation is
eternal and it is never to be lost, for once God saves someone, it is forever.
In Colossians 2:11, the rest of the verse states that we will be putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh. This means that no longer will the true believer
be a slave to the sins of the flesh while on earth. The fallen nature can be
overcome by the inward regeneration from Christ.
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews,
and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2:9)
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to
come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
(Revelation 3:9)
There are two verses in the book of Revelation which we
need to look at to get clarification.
The Book of Revelation covers the time period from the cross to the
second coming of Christ on the last day.
We have also discovered that the Christians are the ones who are of
spiritual Israel and called “the true circumcision.”
In the above two verses we find two phrases which we must look at.
They are in both verses.
They are a warning to the Christians to be very discerning with people.
The first phrase is “which say they are Jews.”
We have already seen that the true Jew is one who is born again in
Christ. This phrase warns the true
believer that there are going to be people who claim to be true Christians and
are not because they have never become saved.
They will seek to deceive the true believers.
The second application is that there will be those who will claim to be
physical Jews, that is, tied to the nation of ancient Israel.
When Revelation was penned the destruction of Jerusalem happened 25 years
prior and all the Jews were either killed or taken into slavery by the Romans
and no one knows who they are because they were assimilated into the empire.
What survived from them was the false cult of Judaism which saw a major
expansion in the Eighth Century in the area of Khazaria which is known today as
Kazakhstan. Those who are members
of this cult are not connected to ancient Israel but are converted Gentiles.
Therefore, they are not real Jews but converts to the false religion of
Judaism which is Talmudic based and not Old Testament based.
In Smyrna, which Revelation 2:9 is addressed
to, there was an alliance between the Romans and the Jews to persecute the
Christians. In fact, Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna by a consortium of both
Jews and Romans. There was major hatred in Smyrna for the Christians by both
Jews and Romans. The Jews did not have much trouble in accepting the deity of
the Emperor of Rome alongside the worship of the true God. Their history will
attest to how easily they accepted idolatry and here would be no difference
because an alliance with Rome would divert any persecution away from them. They
also considered the Christians to be committing blasphemy by worshipping Christ,
whom they considered to be just a dead criminal. The Lord was well aware of
those who were blaspheming in the church claiming to be Jews but were really of
Satan’s people. These people were not claiming to be the physical Jews but were
claiming to be Christians. Now they may have been Jews who were making believe
they were saved and joined the church.
The second phrase is “the synagogue of Satan.”
The synagogue of Satan is mentioned also in
Revelation 2:9. The word “synagogue” in the Greek simply means “a place of
assembly or a congregation.” It does not necessarily point to a congregation of
Jews. What would be a congregation of Satan? It would be any body of people that
deny the cardinal truths about Christ and Christianity.
Summary
Let us summarize what we have
learned from the Scriptures on this subject.
Remember there is a big difference between the biblical Jews and the
political Jews.
·
The True Jew is the Born Again Believer
·
No member of the false cult of Judaism is a true
Jew, they are political Jews
·
The true believer in Christ is “the” true
circumcision
·
Jew is a shortened term for Judah, the tribe from
which the Lord Jesus Christ came through
·
The term “Jew” was apropos when it started being
used in the time of King Ahaz when the northern kingdom was taken by Assyria and
the only ones left was the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and were known as Jews.
·
No one knows who the descendants of the ancient
Jews are after they were taken to Assyria, Babylon, and Rome because of
assimilation
·
The term “Jew” changed definition after the cross
and was now applied to the true believer who is a true Jew “inwardly” as written
in Romans 2:28-29.
People who read this study that are steeped in Dispensationalism will believe their prophecy books instead of the Bible. If you do not like what you read, then you must prove me wrong according to the Scriptures and not your man-centered prophecy and theology books. Everything changed at the cross and if you choose not to believe that, then you will rob yourself of truth in favor of a fake people who have been deceiving the Christians for millennia and will continue to do so unless Christians choose to return to the Bible. The modern Jews are members of the false cult of Judaism and do not belong in the exalted position the church has placed them. They are a mission field. Your salvation does not depend upon them because Genesis 12:1-3 is not about them but the body of believers. Your salvation depends upon Christ, the very one they hate and the very ones who are praised and exalted by the church. No wonder the church has become a weak entity because of their exaltation of the enemies of Christ.