(>>>Isaiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say , Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways , and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.<<<
That passage is referring to heavenly New Jerusalem located on heavenly mount Sion. New Jerusalem is also known as the Church. The New Testament mentions them in several places:)
THERE ARE NATIONS IN HEAVEN? NATIONS WILL BE TAUGHT TO TURN THEIR WEAPONS INTO AGRICULTURAL TOOLS? IS GOD A LIAR?
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant … “ (Heb 12:22-24 KJV)
WRITER OF THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS IS CONTRASTING MOSES WITH CHRIST HERE AND “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven” NOT IN HEAVEN.
“To distinguish heavenly Jerusalem from earthly Jerusalem, Paul wrote:
“Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Gal 4:24-26 KJV)”
PAUL WAS CONTRASTING AGAIN LIKE THE WRITER TO THE HEBREWS SEE “Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.”
On Rev 17:18 you said “But no one really knows what that verse means, that I am aware of.” but the angle interpreted it and it means the city is not Jerusalem.
You said “My belief is derived from the theme of all the new testament writers who were focused primarily on the upcoming judgement of Israel; God’s divorcement of the nation;”
That sounds like what Paul was warning the Romans about “Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: “
Is is really necessary to post in all caps?
I believe I explained that very well. The Church is a spiritual place. Much of the old testament prophecy is also spiritual. If you attempt to take it literally at all times you will be making the same mistake the Jews did in the days of Christ. I don't recommend that.
>>>>WRITER OF THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS IS CONTRASTING MOSES WITH CHRIST HERE AND “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven” NOT IN HEAVEN.<<<
I don't believe I understand your question, or your point, whichever it is.
>>>PAUL WAS CONTRASTING AGAIN LIKE THE WRITER TO THE HEBREWS SEE “Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.”<<<
Again, I don't understand your point. And I almost missed your next comment since it blended so well with everything else. I had written:
>>>“My belief is derived from the theme of all the new testament writers who were focused primarily on the upcoming judgement of Israel; God’s divorcement of the nation;”<<<
>>>That sounds like what Paul was warning the Romans about “Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.<<
>>>Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: “<<<
Could you explain your comment differently. I am unsure how you are relating the two.
However, I will make a general comment on the Romans 11 verses you posted: in Romans 9 Paul explains that "all Israel" does not mean "all Israel." In fact, if you read the implication of his explanation, "all Israel" is in fact a very small number (9:27-29).
Why? Because of all the bad seed mixed in with a small amount good seed. In fact, the only seed that eventually received the promises was Jesus Christ (Rom 9:29 and Gal 3:16.)
Jesus was kind enough to share it with those who believe in him (Gal 3:29;) and through Jesus are all nations blessed, to fulfill the original promise to righteous Abraham. But it is important to understand that Israel no longer exists, except through Jesus.
To elaborate, let's look at the original Joel prophecy that Paul was referencing in Romans 11:26:
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." (Joel 2:31 KJV)
As you can see, the only ones from Israel who are delivered--who are saved-- are the small remnant whom the Lord calls, and those humble enough to call on his name. As I explained above, Israel only exists through Jesus Christ.
Therefore when Paul wrote, "All Israel shall be saved," he was referring to a very small number of them, and only those who are Christ's.
Philip