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To: topcat54
I realize how you want to read the verses, but it simply says there were “certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.” It does not say these Greeks were worshipping at the feast, which is you’re reading. (Which would have been inappropriate for uncircumcised Greeks to observe.)

lol. You are certainly stubborn. That's about as clear as it gets. Read commentators. Read history. Read other translations:

(ESV) Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
(MRC) Now there were certain Greeks out of those who were going up to worship at the festival;
(MSG) There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast.
(WNT) Now some of those who used to come up to worship at the Festival were Greeks.
(ALT) Now [there] were some Greeks from the ones going up so that they should prostrate themselves in worship at the feast.
(EMTV) And there were some Greeks among those coming up, so that they might worship at the feast.
(ESV) Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.

There WERE gentiles who recognized that the Jews worshipped the one, true, God. These gentiles recognized that he wanted people to worship him in the way he specified. Scripture is full of examples of gentiles who recognized this. Nebuchadnezzer comes to mind. It's like you think that Peter, Paul and the rest totally scrapped everything they ever knew, including scripture and the example of Christ, and invented their own rules.

52 posted on 09/11/2007 1:52:17 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC; XeniaSt
You are certainly stubborn. That's about as clear as it gets. Read commentators. Read history. Read other translations:

I don't think it has anything to do with being stubborn. Most of the folks on this forum know scripture well enough to even know when they are wrong. The problem is.....they cannot admit this, as then.... their Catholic/Protestant, false foundation will come crumbling down......as it should, I might add.

The answer I can never seem to get from any of them is: Why do some of the Early Church Fathers (Polycarp, Polycrates and others) continue to celebrate the Passover, on the fourteenth as directed by Leviticus 23....late in the second century? From the Link: "Our author belonged to a family in which he was the eighth Christian bishop; and he presided over the church of Ephesus, in which the traditions of St. John were yet fresh in men's minds at the date of his birth."

Polycrates of Ephesus

John....the last living Apostle and the one to whom was given the care of The Lord's mother. Didn't he get the memo?

56 posted on 09/11/2007 5:42:28 PM PDT by Diego1618
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To: DouglasKC; XeniaSt; Campion; kevinw
You are certainly stubborn. That's about as clear as it gets.

Assuming your interpretation is correct, so what?

These Greek were, just like the Jews, worshipping under the requirements of the old covenant Mosaic code which was still in effect at that particular time. Likewise with folks from Moses through David to John the Baptist (Nebuchadnezzer is a red-herring since he never worshipped at the temple).

All that changed when Christ appeared and instituted the new covenant. In the new covenant we no longer see believing Greeks going up with Jews to the temple to worship (The example of Timothy in Acts 16 is a unique situation, and Paul makes it clear his reasons for all the actions in that special case.). In fact, after the resurrection even Jesus never again appeared at the temple even though He was on the earth for another 40 days. The power of God ripped the temple veil in two, symbolizing the end of the system of temple worship was at hand. Besides, the temple was not a fit place for Christian worship anyway since Greeks were not permitted (Acts 21:29).

So there is a clear old covenant/new covenant delineation in the Bible. Over the course of 40 years, from the resurrection to the destruction of the temple in AD70, the people of God transitioned from old covenant worship to new covenant worship. For a time there was a bit of overlap. The Jewish believer kept some of their forms as a custom and in order to win their fellow Jews to Christ.

Many of the things that folks did routinely under the old covenant were not followed under the new, especially once the temple was finally and forever destroyed by God by the agency of the armies of Rome.

I think you have a hard time seeing this, and instead prefer to read all sorts on things into the Bible which are not there.

57 posted on 09/12/2007 8:35:32 AM PDT by topcat54 ("... knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:3))
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