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To: kosta50
Also ... John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.

You are reaidng into it because it's out of context. Christ makes it very clear an unambiguous that he was SENT for the LOST SHEEP of ISRAEL. The sheep that are not in His fold are the lost shep of Israel, not the Gentiles.

Even the Revelation speaks of the 12 tribes. Everything points to the idea that the original Chrstian following had no intentsions or desires to go to any of the Gentiles (non-Semites), or even to Semites whose Torah is believed in "error" (Samaritans).


Much scripture counters your conclusion.

Jesus was, indeed, sent to the Jews first ... but the intention of God was always that all would be included ...
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
This is, indeed, context for the scripture I formerly cited ...
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
After His death and resurrection, Jesus expanded His disciples' mission ... to include the whole world ...
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Since you bring it up, ... Revelations includes a similar commission ...
Revelations 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
... and speaks of a great crowd (besides the tribes of Israel) ... of many nations, peoples, and tongues ...
Revelations 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

9,009 posted on 10/14/2007 5:36:13 AM PDT by Quester
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To: Quester
All your quotes are conjectures. John 6:38 does not say anything about Gentiles. The OT says nothing about evangelizing the Gentiles. Those who'd see Him and believe in Him would become Jewish.

No mention was made of a "new" religion. The earliest of Chirstians considered themselves Jewish and attended synagogue services until they were literally kicked out of them and out of Israel.

It's only at this point that Christianity begins to change form being a sect of Judaism, a denomination if you will, like the Sadducees and Pharisees and Essenes, to a different religion.

Acts were written after the fact. Acts were written with lots of St. Paul's presence and therefore reflect his mission to the Gentiles, which became an absolute NECESSITY for the Church to survive.

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine

Nothing in this suggests that the sheep, which were always referred to in connection with the Jews is any different here. The ambiguity of these words, however, rather than using proper names is intentional. That way they can be applied to to more than one situation.

The Gospel of John was written at the end of the century, when Chrisianity was not only deep inside the Gentile world but was no longer considered part of Judaism (the meeting at Jamnia took place at about the same time).

The same can be said of Revelation. Its intention was to spread Christianity, but the fact is Christ never taught that His mission was for anything other than Jews. The Great Commission is in the Bible but we don't know if it was in the original manusrcipt, considering that He is specifically quoted as saying He was sent for the lost sheep of Israel.

The reference to earth and kings is also an ambiguous one and does not necessarily mean the whole world. There was no desire on the part of Judaism to covnert the world. It only says that through Israel the world will know the God of Abraham, but not necessarily that the world will embrace Him.

9,010 posted on 10/14/2007 6:28:28 AM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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