Program 128: Learn the truth about Israel and the Church!

Remnant Israel is a spiritual body composed of believers, both Jews and Gentiles.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Hello there! Welcome to World’s Last Chance Radio. I’m your host, Miles Robey. Joining me is the ever-erudite Dave Wright.

Dave Wright: “Erudite”? Brushing up on our vocabulary, are we?

Miles laughs: Look at this bloke! I pay him a compliment and he trash-talks me!

Dave: No, I’m just saying the “ever-erudite” makes me sound like the mascot for some advertisement. Like a battery, or something. “Dave the ever-ready.”

Miles: Well, you are ever-ready with an answer, aren’t you, “Dave the ever-ready-erudite.”

Dave: Apparently not, as I’ve no idea what to say in response to your . . . vocabulary game. So. Change of subject. What do you have planned for today?

Miles: Well, it’s about words—symbols—their different meanings, and the different misunderstandings that can occur depending upon how they’re used.

Today, could you please talk to us about Israel and the Church. Is the remnant Church Israel? Or are they two separate entities, what? What can you tell us about this?

Dave: Well, I’m glad you asked. Historically speaking, there have been two main schools of thought about the Church and its relationship to Israel. In supersessionism—

Miles: In super—what?

Dave: Supersessionism. Kind of a big word, isn’t it? Some people call it replacement theology. Basically, Supersessionism, or “replacement theology,” teaches that the Church supersedes, or replaces, Israel. If memory serves, Justin Martyr was the first one to promote this idea back in the second century.

Miles: Soooo . . . not a teaching of the apostles.

Dave: No. The second school of thought, referred to as “separation theology,” teaches that there is a distinct difference between Israel and the Church and that both have a role to play in last day events.

Miles: So, in other words, the Church is not Israel.

Dave: No. Not according to “separation theology.”

Miles: Isn’t separation theology one of the teachings of dispensationalism? You know, this idea that Yahuwah has divided history—particularly Biblical history—into different dispensations.

Dave: Yes, it is part of that.

Miles: So which is correct? Is the Church Israel, or does the Church replace Israel? What say you?

Dave: Well, it’s not what I say, but what Scripture says. After a lot of careful study, I believe that both schools of thought have been wrong. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Miles: All right. Why is that?

Dave: Well, the first thing we need to know whenever we discuss the Church and Israel, is to know that the Bible very rarely makes any parallel distinction between Israel as a nation and the Church.

Miles: Really?

Dave: Well, there are a couple of exceptions. In Yahushua’s lament over Jerusalem, he appears to draw a connection when he says that they won’t see him again until they say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahuwah.” You can read that in Matthew 23, verse 39.

Miles: What about Romans 11? Give me just a second to pull it up on my monitor . . . here we go. Verses 26 and 27. It says:

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

Dave: Yeah, there’s that one, too. I’m not saying it never happens. Just that it rarely does. The vast majority of the time, however, Israel is simply presented as a nation. It’s not the spiritual entity modern Christians make it out to be.

Miles: And, of course, as a nation—a country—it’s full of individuals. Some will be saved; some lost.

Dave: Exactly. Now, on the rare occasion the Bible speaks of Israel as a spiritual entity, it’s actually speaking of “remnant Israel.”

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: Well, we speak of the “remnant Church” as being people whose hearts are fully dedicated to Yah, as opposed to the vast majority of pew-warmers who give lip-service only. The same holds true for remnant Israel. These are the ones who have made that full heart-surrender and soul-commitment to Yah.

Miles: All right. I’ve got a question for you. First Corinthians chapter 10, verses 32 and 33, seem to draw some sort of . . . I don’t know . . . parallel distinction, I think you called it, between the Church and Israel.

Listen while I read it. It says, quote: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of Yah, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”

Dave: You’re right. A lot of believers use these verses to prove a parallel distinction between the “Church” and “Israel.” However, let’s take a look at this again. I’m going to read this and I want you to take particular note of the coordinating conjunctions here. Notice.

It says: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of Yah.” Paul’s not lumping them all together as the same thing. In this context, the word “Jews” is referring to the Jews who had not accepted Christ.

The word “Greeks” is referring to unsaved Gentiles (or Greeks). And, of course, the church of Yahuwah is referring to those who are saved, whether they are Jew or Greek!

Miles: So, what you’re saying is, this passage is not saying Israel OR the Church. Instead, it’s drawing a distinction between Jew and Gentile; between the saved and the unsaved.

Dave: Correct. And it is not bringing in an Israel-versus-the-Church element. It’s simply Jew or Gentile; saved or unsaved.

Miles: Okay, so . . . why do people want to say the Church replaces Israel?

Dave: Or, contrarily, separate Israel from the Church?

Miles: Yeah, yeah.

Dave: Well, there’s several reasons. First, a lot of people, when they hear the word “Church” in the New Testament, automatically think “Gentile.” They know the Jewish nation rejected the Messiah, so they just make the assumption that “Church” equals “Gentile.”

And that’s not true. Would you read Ephesians 3, verse 6 for us? This verse makes it clear that not all the Jews are lost.

Miles: Okay, uh . . . it kind of starts in the middle of a sentence here—

Dave: You know Paul! Go ahead. It’ll still make sense.

Miles: All right, uh . . . “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”

Dave: The Gentiles are heirs, yes. But they are fellow heirs, of the same body. In other words, they are heirs with the Jews who accept Yahushua as the Messiah. That’s what it means to be a “fellow heir.”

The problem is, the opposite extreme isn’t correct, either. To equate the term “Israel” solely with the Jews, is to ignore the fact that Scripture teaches that Gentile believers are to become citizens of Israel!

Miles: Not literally.

Dave: No. Spiritually. You’re in Ephesians 3? Go back to Ephesians 2 and read verses 11 to 13 for us.

Miles:

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without Yahuwah in the world. But now in Christ Yahushua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Dave: And verse 19?

Miles: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of Yah.”

Dave: Right here you have it: in a spiritual sense, Gentile believers become citizens of Israel. But there’s one more problem and that is that Christians don’t usually realize that there is also a distinction between national Israel and remnant Israel.

Miles: “Remnant” Israel. Now, see, that’s a new thought to me. We always talk about the “remnant Church” but I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term “Remnant Israel” before.

Dave: Well, it’s a Biblical concept. Go to Romans chapter 9 and read verses 6 to 8. Romans 9:6-8.

Miles: All right, it says . . . uh:

But it is not that the word of Yah has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of Yahuwah; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

Dave: Remember what Yahushua said in Matthew 7. He said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14]

It’s not a matter of all Jews are lost or all Jews will be saved, any more than it is a matter of all Gentiles will be saved, or all Gentiles will be lost. The reality, the truth, is more nuanced. When you look at all the various passages of Scripture that deal with the “Church” and “Israel,” it becomes clear that the “Church” doesn’t always refer to Gentiles only, and the term “Israel” doesn’t always mean just the Jews.

Miles: You know, I had never really looked at this before, but you get looking at it, it’s very clear there’s this huge theological difference between national Israel and remnant Israel.

“Remnant Israel” isn’t even a term I’ve used before, but you’re right: the concept is there in Scripture.

Dave: We like things to be very black-and-white, either/or, neither/nor. But the truth is, reality is typically more nuanced than that, and this concept is more nuanced, too. Israel isn’t the Church; the Church is not Israel. But there are Church members in Israel and there are Jews in the Church.

Miles: Before we go on, let’s clarify for our listeners just what we mean by the term, “Church.” Now, the dictionary defines “church” as, quote: “The collective body of Christians, composed of three great branches, the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Eastern.”

But that’s not— That’s not what “church” means in the Bible, is it?

Dave: No. In the New Testament, the word that appears as “church” in our modern Bibles actually comes from the Greek word, Ekklesia. Could you read the definition for us?

Miles: Got it right here. The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words says of ekklesia, quote: “This word stresses a group of people called out for a special purpose. It designated the new society of which [Yahushua] was the founder, being as it was a society knit together by the closest spiritual bonds and altogether independent of space. Ekklesia, from ek, “out of,” and klesis, “a calling.” Unquote.

Dave: So, ekklesia means, literally, “a calling out.” Now, in the first century, of course, the early believers were “called out of” the Israelite national religion that had rejected Yahushua as the Messiah.

Miles: Gentile converts were “called out of” the various pagan religions.

Dave: Right. And today, believers are called “out of” all organized religions. That’s Judaism, yes. But it’s also Buddhism, Shintoism, paganism, Catholicism and even Protestantism, because all religions and all denominations contain error.

In Christian churches that preach on the near return of Christ, Revelation 18 is a popular Scripture passage. Revelation 18:4 states, quote: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

So we preach, “Come out of her, My people,” and we see this as an invitation we are to extend. Have you ever thought about the irony that one of the most popular destinations for “missionaries” are Catholic countries?

Miles: Yeah, actually, that has always struck me as very presumptuous.

Dave: Oh, it is! Catholics believe in the god of the Bible. They believe in Yahushua as the Messiah. And yet, over and over, Protestants send missionaries to proselytize Catholics. The problem with interpreting Revelation 18:4 as an invitation is that it exempts your personal denomination.

Miles: I’ve noticed that. I hate to admit it, but I’ve believed that!

“Hey! Your denomination is wrong. Come believe the way MY denomination teaches!”

Dave: I’ve been there, too. But the truth is, Revelation 18 is not an invitation. It’s a command. Would you read this same verse in the Geneva Bible translation?

Miles: Sure. Now, this is the Bible of the Protestant reformers. It’s really interesting. Revelation 18, verse 4 in the Geneva Bible states, quote: “And I heard another voice from heaven say, Go out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Dave: Oh, the difference one little verb makes! “Come” is an invitation. “Go” a command. No denomination, no religion, is exempt. We are to leave them all and return to a personal, one-on-one relationship with the Creator.

So, when you’re looking at Bible passages that talk about “Israel” and that talk about the “Church,” keep this in mind. It’s not talking about the body of Christians as a world religion; it’s not talking about your personal denomination. “Church” refers to the remnant: that small body of called-out ones.

Miles: Those who “follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth.”

Dave: Revelation 14:4, yes. In fact, why don’t you turn there and read that for us really quickly?

Miles: Okay, uh, verse one for context: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.”

Dave: And verses four and five?

Miles: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto Yah and to the Lamb.

And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of Yah.”

Dave: This is what Scripture is talking about when it speaks of the Church. It’s the ekklesia. Those who love Yah so much that they let nothing stand in the way of rendering to Him full and complete obedience, following full and complete surrender.

Miles: Okay, we’re going to take a short little break and when we come back, I want to talk about how this applies to Israel. We’ll be right back.

* * *

Advertisement

Satan’s most effective deceptions are those in which he entwines truth and error together. He has done this on:

• The nature of Christ,
• What happens to the soul at death,
• The divine law,
• The Sabbath, and a whole host of other topics.

But the problem is that when truth is entwined with error, you don’t get diluted truth. Instead, all you get is error.

On World’s Last Chance website, we have dozens of articles and videos focusing on popular beliefs in Christianity which, when studied in the light of Scripture, are shown to be in error.

But don’t take our word for it. Come! Consider the evidence, then study it out for yourself. Heaven is pouring out spiritual truths. It’s important to know the truth and be able to share that truth with others.

James 1, verse 5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of Yah, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

You don’t need a pastor, priest, rabbi, or imam to tell you the truth. Study for yourself and let Yahuwah be your teacher. He knows your beliefs, He knows your past, and He will lead you into all truth.

Visit us at WorldsLastChance.com and start studying today!

* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Just to recap for those just tuning in: the “Church” is the body of true believers, those who have been “called out” to follow Yahuwah. It’s not the denomination. It’s not even the religion. It’s those who have made a full surrender to follow truth regardless of the cost.

Dave: They’ve made that full surrender to the will of Yah. That’s why they are said to be “in Christ.” Remember Romans 8? “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Yahushua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Miles: So then the Church, (the “called-out ones”) are Jews who have been spiritually called out of Judaism—

Dave: And Gentiles who have been spiritually called out of all false religions and belief systems. So, the Church, the ekklesia, is composed of both Jews and Gentiles that have followed the Holy Spirit’s guidance out of error.

Paul explains this perfectly in Romans 2. Why don’t you turn there for us? Romans chapter 2, verses 28 and 29.

Remember: Paul, who was a Pharisee. He was very well-versed in the letter of the law so, after his conversion, he also understood the spiritual application of the law as well.

You have it? Go ahead.

Miles: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 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 Yahuwah.”

Dave: That is what the Church is.

Miles: All right. That makes sense. Of course the true Church isn’t going to be those who are Christians in name only.

So then, who or what is Israel?

Dave: Well, “Israel” can actually mean several different things. Symbols are that way, you know. There’s a depth of meaning there. That’s why we never want to take a hard-and-fast stance: THIS IS THE WAY IT IS AND ALL OTHER INTERPRETATIONS ARE WRONG!

No. With symbols, there are layers of meaning.

Miles: I’m going to assume that the first definition of Israel is simply the obvious: Israel as a nation, composed of the descendants of Jacob, or “Israel” as his name was changed to that after wrestling with the angel.

Dave: Right. Israel as a nation. The second can refer to the descendants of Jacob who did not accept Yahushua as the Messiah. That’s what Paul’s talking about in Romans 11, verse 7, when he says, quote: “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.”

Miles: A couple of chapters earlier, you have the same use of the word. Romans 9, verse 31, says, quote: “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.” Unquote. I think this use of Israel as a symbol occurs quite a lot in the early years, when Christianity was growing away from Judaism.

So, what’s the third way Israel is used as a symbol?

Dave: Spiritually speaking. Those who trust in Yah’s promises given to Abraham are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. Therefore, they are considered remnant Israel.

You’ve got Romans 9 pulled up on your monitor there. Scroll back to the beginning of the chapter and read verses 6 and 7. What does that say?

Miles: Uhhh . . . “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’” [Romans 9:6b-7]

Dave: Just because someone is descended, biologically, from Abraham, does not make him (or her) a spiritual descendant of Abraham.

Miles: And, obviously, the important thing is to be a spiritual descendant.

Dave: Precisely. Yahushua explained this as well. Turn to John 8. He’s speaking to the Pharisees here and has quite a lot to say.

Miles: John 8. Which verse?

Dave: Uh . . . why don’t you read verses 37 to 44.

Miles:

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”

They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Yahushua said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from Yahuwah. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—Yahuwah.”

Yahushua said to them, “If Yahuwah were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from Yahuwah; nor have I come of myself, but He sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.

Dave: So, even though, genetically, they were descended from Abraham, they weren’t true Israelites in a spiritual sense. Christ said they were of their father, the devil.

Miles: So what you’re saying is, a person can be part of physical Israel—by physical descent—but not a part of remnant Israel, because he or she isn’t a part of spiritual Israel.

Dave: That’s exactly what I’m saying. Just like we speak of the Church as a general term when speaking of the entire body of Christendom but, at the same time, we know there is the remnant Church.

The same holds true for “Israel.” You’ve got Israel the nation, but within that, you’ve also got (spiritually speaking) a subset: remnant Israel.

Miles: Okay, that makes sense. So when Gentiles, through faith, become the spiritual descendants of Abraham, they become part of remnant Israel.

Dave: Exactly. Paul explains this by using the illustration of an olive tree. Turn back to Romans 11. Romans 11, verses 16 to 24.

Here, Paul is likening Israel to a cultivated olive tree. Go ahead.

Miles:

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 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, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if Yah did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of Yahuwah: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for Yahuwah is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out 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?

Dave: Okay, let’s analyze this: the “holy firstfruits,” the root.

Miles: Would that be Abraham? He was the founder of the Israelite nation and belief system.

Dave: Some people believe that, and it can certainly have a secondary application to him. However, I believe the primary application is Yahushua. It is only through faith in him and his redeeming merits that any can be saved.

Miles: That’s true, and then there’s Romans 9:3 to 4 which says: “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Paul’s saying that separation from the Saviour is like being “cut off” from him.

Dave: Which is consistent with this analogy of an olive tree with Christ being the root.

Miles: The natural branches, of course, would be Jewish believers, right?

Dave: Yes, and the “wild olive” branches refer to individual Gentile converts. We are not biological Jews. We are spiritual Jews; we’re grafted in.

The thing that’s important to understand in this illustration, however, is that unbelieving Jews are not part of the olive tree, either! So many, very sincere, Christians become so enamored of Judaism. They pepper their speech with Hebrew words and phrases; they wear their little yarmulkes; they study various Jewish rites and traditions trying to make themselves as “Jewish” as possible. But only spiritual Jews, whether they’re biologically descended from Abraham or not, comprise this olive tree.

The olive tree in Paul’s illustration represents remnant Israel.

Miles: So, if remnant Israel doesn’t have unbelieving Jews in it, is remnant Israel synonymous with the remnant Church?

Dave: I believe so, yes. The olive tree, with its branches grafted in from the wild olive, symbolizes believers in the Messiah. This olive tree symbolizes remnant Israel but it also symbolizes the remnant church. Ephesians 3:6, in speaking of the revelation of Yahuwah in Christ, explains that it was so that “the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”

Miles: That makes sense. If the olive tree symbolized only physical descendants from Abraham, remnant Israel might be presented as something separate from the olive tree that was placed within the Church. But that’s not what he says. Gentile believers are grafted into the olive tree. So, obviously, the olive tree encompasses all believers and excludes all non-believers, regardless of their lineage.

Dave: It’s similar to Paul’s analogy in Romans 12 to the remnant Church, remnant Israel, being like a body with Christ the head of that body, controlling its members.

There’s one more metaphor used in Scripture that teaches this same concept. Turn to 1 Peter, chapter 2, and read verses 4 to 6. What does that say?

Miles:

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Yah and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Yahuwah through Yahushua Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame.”

Dave: The olive tree is the remnant Church which is comprised of remnant Israel. In this metaphor, the body of Christ is a temple made of living stones. But notice! Only to those who believe. Keep reading. Verses 7 to 9.

Miles:

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Dave: In a sense, the Church is a new development under the gospel. In Matthew 16:18, Yahushua spoke of building his church as a future endeavor.

Miles: Hold on a sec. Let me read that. Uh . . . “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Dave: This is the first time the ekklesia is mentioned in the New Testament. Just as Moses called the Israelites out of Egypt physically, Yahushua calls people today out of spiritual Egypt. We are called out of the various religious bodies in the world to form a new body with Christ at its head. We are the church of the called-out-ones.

Miles: But it’s not really new, is it? I mean, all right. Under grace, we are a new creature in Christ. But if the remnant Church is remnant Israel, if they’re one and the same, you could say the remnant Church is but a continuation of remnant Israel.

Dave: Sure. And whether you’re a physical descendant of Abraham, or you’re a card-carrying member of . . . whatever Christian denomination you want to name, this does not guarantee that you are a member of remnant Israel OR the remnant Church. Only a full surrender to Yahuwah, claiming the merits of the blood of Yahushua by faith, will make you a member of the remnant Church. Only through faith can any of us be “grafted” in to the olive tree that symbolizes remnant Israel.

Miles: This reminds me of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3. He was telling the unbelieving Jews that Yahushua fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. Listen to this. Verses 22 to 23. It says:

For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘Yahuwah your Elohim will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

Dave: Jew or Gentile, when we accept the gift of Yah’s son, we become a member of the remnant Church, a part of the body of Christ. But, for Jews who obstinately remained unbelieving, they would be “cut off” or “destroyed from among the people.” This is the same language as Paul used when talking about cutting off branches from the olive tree.

Obviously, both Paul and Peter equated remnant Israel with the remnant Church.

Miles: With this understanding, it’s really significant that the capital city of the earth made new is called . . . the “New Jerusalem.” It could have been called anything, but it’s “Jerusalem.”

Dave: Right! Right!

In conclusion, I just want to point out a few last thoughts. It’s because the remnant Church is remnant Israel that Paul could say that Gentile believers have been “grafted in” to remnant Israel. This is also why both Paul and Peter could warn the unbelieving Jews, that if they persisted in their unbelief, they would be cut off from . . . Israel. They’re talking remnant Israel here.

Furthermore, Paul said that the Gentile believers were no longer, quote, “strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of Yah.” [Ephesians 2:19]

If the remnant Church had somehow replaced Israel, or if it were completely new and separate, none of these teachings would make sense. But, as we’ve seen, the remnant Church and remnant Israel are one and the same.

* * *

You are listening to World's Last Chance Radio.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Advertisement

The vast majority of Christians celebrate Yahushua’s resurrection on Sunday, while millions of Jews and Saturday-keeping Protestants worship on Saturday.

But do you know why?

History, archeology, and astronomy confirm that neither Saturday nor Sunday existed in the Julian calendar of Christ’s day. The ramifications of this are huge. It means that Yahushua could not have been resurrected on Sunday, nor is the modern Saturday the Biblical Sabbath.

Yahushua was resurrected on the first day of the week, but that day was not Sunday. The resurrection occurred on the first day of the week of the Biblical luni-Solar calendar.

Most Christians remain ignorant of this fact. To learn when this incredible change of worship days occurred, go to WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon. To learn when Christians changed their day of worship, listen to “Constantine’s Deception.” But that’s not all. Jews today know that Saturday isn’t the Biblical Sabbath—and they don’t care because Saturday is now tradition. To learn when, and why, the Jews quit worshiping on the Biblical Sabbath, listen to the program entitled: “Saturday is not the Sabbath … and the Jews know it!”

The Sabbath is a special gift from the Creator where He spends time with His children. Don’t be deceived into worshipping on a false day. Learn these facts of history because when you worship does matter!

* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: All right! Ready for a question from our Daily Mailbag?

Dave: Sure! What have you got for us today?

Miles: It’s a great question. Let’s see if you can guess where it’s coming from. It’s a country in Africa that has two official languages, one of which is English.

Dave: South Africa.

Miles: BZZZZ! Thank you for playing but you are wrong! British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill called this country the “pearl of Africa” because of its great natural beauty.

Dave: It’s got to be South Africa.

Miles laughs: You still lose! It’s actually Uganda.

Dave: Huh! Uganda. I wouldn’t have guessed that. I read recently that Uganda is the second largest landlocked country in the world.

Miles: Interesting.

Dave: So what question do you have for us today from Uganda?

Miles: Well, Joseph from Kampala—that’s their capital city—has a very probing question I think we can all benefit from. He asks: “What do you see as the biggest issue facing Christians today?”

Dave: Hmmm. That’s a very interesting question. I like it because, as the saying goes, “forewarned is fore-armed.” Satan’s most effective traps always utilize deceit. If we can know Satan’s devices, then we can be on the look-out for them.

There are a number of issues I think Christians need to be aware of. The first is Biblical illiteracy.

Miles: “Biblical illiteracy.” What do you mean by that?

Dave: Basic knowledge of the Bible is missing. A number of our team members live in Catholic countries and they’ve commented that there, religion is the cultural norm, but a true, living experience with the Word of Yah is very rare.

Miles: I can see that. Back in 2010, the Barna Group did a study that revealed that, while most people view Easter as a religious holiday, a shocking majority of them did not associate Easter with the resurrection of Christ. And that’s the pagan/Christian substitute for the true Israelite feasts! How many Christians today know that Christ was actually not resurrected on Easter—that came in 400 years later—but on the Israelite feast of First Fruits?

Dave: Or even how to calculate when that occurs?

Miles: Right. I don’t think very many.

Dave: Christianity should be far more than just a cultural norm. It is to be a living experience for every single individual that takes the name of Christ.

Miles: I think Hebrews says it really well. Listen to this. It’s Hebrews 4, verse 12. It says: “For the word of Yah is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Dave: But if we don’t know the word of Yah for ourselves, if we haven’t studied it and made its principles a vital part of our lives, how are we going to actually live by it?

Miles: Right. Right. You can’t.

Dave: So that’s one of the dangers facing Christians today. Another issue that I see everywhere, in all walks of life, in every culture around the world, is spiritual laziness. This idea that you don’t have to study for yourself because your priest or pastor—

Miles: Or imam.

Dave: Or imam, or guru, or . . . whatever. Fill in the blank. The idea that you don’t have to study because your spiritual leader already studies and will tell you what is the truth.

If that’s your attitude, let me ask you this: Do you really want to hang your eternal welfare on whether or not your pastor, priest, or whomever, is telling you the truth? Truth is advancing! Maybe there’s truth out there that he hasn’t studied yet, but truth you need to know.

Miles: Well, not only that. We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: pastors have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. The organization that pays their salary typically has a stated creed or set of beliefs. It’s a rare soul that will jeopardize his employment, his ability to provide for his family, and teach things that are contrary to the creed of the denomination or organization that employs him.

Dave: Exactly. I am personally acquainted with two pastors who have told me that they know the Biblical day of worship is neither Saturday nor Sunday; that, to be consistent, the Biblical luni-solar calendar should be used to calculate holy days. But one has university-aged kids. He doesn’t want to jeopardize his employment while putting his kids through school.

The other finally made a stand for the truth . . . but only after retiring.

I’m not trying to set myself up as judge. It’s human nature to want to keep our jobs, especially if we have a family we’re trying to support. But what I am saying is that each one of us is answerable to Yah for our own souls. Trusting your pastor/priest/imam to tell you the truth does not remove from you the responsibility to study and know truth for yourself.

Miles: Ezekiel 14, verse 20: “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith Yahuwah Adonai, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.”

Dave: Precisely.

Miles: Well, I think this goes along with another, very real, danger facing Christians today and that’s complacency. We know so much! Or at least we like to think we do.

We’re not like the poor, blind, deluded Christians during the dark ages. We’re post-Protestant Revolution Christians. We know the truth! But that very assurance brings with it, complacency.

Dave: We think we already know everything necessary for salvation.

Miles: Which makes any new idea, any new truth, wrong by default.

Dave: It’s spiritual pride to assume we’ve nothing more to learn.

Miles: But see, that’s what we tend to do as Christians. We don’t like to compare ourselves to the Word of Yah. Oh, no! That would point out all our failings! We like to compare ourselves to fellow Christians; focus on their failings. When I point out where you have sinned, it makes me feel pretty good about myself, you see?

Dave: Well, it’s spiritual pride.

Miles: Exactly. And that’s deadly. Listen to this. It’s from Revelation 3. This is the message to the church of Laodicea. It says, quote:

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of Yah;

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. [Revelation 3:14-18]

Unquote. It’s spiritual pride that makes me compare myself to you and find you wanting, while thinking myself pretty good.

Dave: What’s more, it’s spiritual pride that makes any of us think we know everything necessary for salvation. This is a very important point, because if you think you know everything necessary for salvation, you’re going to reject any new light that comes along. The Father may have sent someone to you with very important truths you need to know, but if you think you already know everything, if you think you’re “increased with goods and in need of nothing,” you’re going to reject it without even studying it with an open mind.

The good news is, that message to the Laodicean church doesn’t stop there. Keep reading. What do the next two verses say?

Miles:

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. [Revelation 3:19-20]

Dave: He tells us this because He loves us. This is a warning. If we will pay attention to this, take it to heart, Yahuwah will protect us and help us through.

There are serious issues but if we will make that full surrender to Yah, we don’t have to worry. He’s in control, and He’s got a solution for every problem, even the problems we face in our own souls.

Miles: Okay, we’ve got time for one more quick question. Andressa in Fortaleza, Brazil, writes: “I just discovered your wonderful programs on short wave radio. I know my mom would really enjoy your programs, too, but she doesn’t have short wave. Besides your website, do you have any other platforms for listening?”

Dave: Yes! YouTube. In addition to our videos, we also upload all of our past radio programs to YouTube. In the search bar, just type in “WLC Radio” plus whatever language you’re wanting. It will take you right to our radio episodes.

Miles: They’re all on our website, too. In fact, our website has articles in even more languages than we broadcast in. So, if you have friends or family that you’d like to share with that aren’t fluent in the language you’re listening to, check out our website. We have articles and videos in over 30 different languages.

And, if you have questions or other comments, that’s how you can get in contact with us, too. Just go to WorldsLastChance.com and click on Contact Us.

* * *Daily Promise

Hello! This is Elise O’Brien with today’s Daily Promise.

Highway 129, outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in the United States, is notorious of being a dangerous stretch of road. It’s twisty and mountainous. Locals refer to this stretch of highway as “the Tail of the Dragon.”

One autumn afternoon, Kevin and his best friend Phil, decided to take their motorcycles out for one last ride before winter. It was a beautiful day for a ride and the two friends were enjoying their time winding through the beautiful mountains. Suddenly, Phil lost a bit of control of his bike. It wasn’t a lot, but for how closely Kevin was following, it was too much. The two men collided. Phil was killed, while Kevin was thrown 105 feet, or 32 meters, down a steep embankment.

Kevin’s injuries were severe. He had a broken spine, multiple broken ribs, and road rash from where he scrapped along the asphalt. There was no way he could climb back up to the road for help. Car after car passed by, the drivers all unaware that a horrific crash lay just below, out of sight. Kevin tried calling, but the distance, along with the sounds of the traffic, drained out his voice.

Amazingly, his cell phone hadn’t been damaged in the crash … but he was lying in a dead spot. There was no cell reception. Hour after hour passed in agony. Night came. Kevin faced the fact that he might well die there before being found. The next morning, he began recording videos on his phone. He hoped that, once his body was found, the videos would be shared with his family and he wanted to tell them how much he loved them.

Thirty hours after the crash, Kevin heard a car slow to a stop on the road far above. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since the day before, but somehow, Kevin managed to yell loud enough to be heard. At last, help was on the way!

Kevin has no doubts whatsoever that it was divine intervention. He says: “There’s no reason why [those] people should have stopped [right] where they stopped. There’s no reason [why], after 30 hours, that I had enough voice for somebody to hear me.”

Kevin’s wife, Courtney, agrees, saying: “God definitely had his hand over him that day and he had guardian angels looking out for him.”

Isaiah 40, verse 29 says that Yahuwah “gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” He certainly did that for Kevin, and He will do that for you, too. In whatever situation you find yourself, know that you have a loving heavenly Father watching over you.

Isaiah 41 verse 13 says: “For I, Yahuwah your Elohim, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: This has been a really eye-opening discussion, Dave. I really appreciate your sharing your insights with us. Why do you think there hasn’t been a clear understanding of the distinction between Israel and the Church? Where has all this misunderstanding come from?

Dave: Well, I think it’s happened for a couple of reasons. First, the Bible makes a clear distinction between Jews and Gentiles. It’s there. You pick up any Bible, and you’ll see it. But the mistake was made in assuming that Israel equates solely with the Jews. This led to a correlating assumption, and that is that the Church is solely for Gentiles.

As we’ve seen from the writings of Paul, both Israel and the Church contain Jews, and both Israel and the Church contain Gentiles.

Miles: So the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is not the same thing as a distinction between “Israel” and the “Church.”

Dave: No, it’s not. That was the first mistake. The second has been that, in speaking of Israel, people haven’t understood the difference between Israel as a nation—national Israel—and remnant Israel. Remnant Israel is a spiritual body composed of believers, both Jews and Gentiles. National Israel, obviously, is not.

Another thing to keep clear in mind is that while Gentile believers have been “grafted into” remnant Israel, Gentiles as a whole don’t replace Israel as a whole. That’s the second mistake people have made. Remember, there will be Jews that are saved. Not all Jews rejected the Messiah.

Miles: Even to this day. The gift of divine grace is that Yah will graft in anyone who chooses to believe and receive the gift of salvation.

Dave: Amen. So, in summary, both “separation theology” and “replacement theology” are wrong. They’re both wrong! The Church hasn’t replaced Israel and never will. Furthermore, Israel as a nation was never a spiritual body.

Miles: Nope! Clear back in, what was it, 1 Samuel? Yahuwah told Samuel to go ahead and anoint the Israelites a king because they had rejected Yahuwah. Clear back then!

Dave: In Romans 11, Paul clearly considered himself part of remnant Israel. In verse 1 he said: “For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”

Miles: He even uses the word “remnant.” A few verses later in verse 5 he says, “Even so then at this present time also there is a … remnant … according to the election of grace.”

Dave: Paul also considered himself to be a part of the body of Christ saying in Romans 9:3 that he’d be willing to be accursed or cut off from Christ if it would save his fellow Jews.

And, finally, in Ephesians 5, verses 29 to 30, he clearly considers himself to be part of the church.

Miles: Here, I’ve got that. Let me read it. It says: “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”

Dave: This proves that the Church is not separate from remnant Israel. The remnant Church and remnant Israel are the same! They’re synonymous. Gentile believers are heirs of the promise because, through faith, they have been grafted in.

By contrast, unbelieving Jews—which aren’t all of them. Just those who don’t believe—have been cut off and are no longer heirs of the promise.

Miles: The great and precious promises! That’s our part in this wonderful transaction of grace. Yah makes the promises, and we choose whether or not we’re going to believe them. And what a precious promise that allows believers today to be heirs of the promises made to Abraham.

Dave: When Yahushua returns, the earth will be made new and Yahuwah will bring the New Jerusalem down to earth to be the eternal home of all who have chosen to believe the promises of Yah.

Miles: I was doing a study on the promises made to Abraham the other day, and there’s one I’d never really noticed before in Romans 4. I mean, I’ve read it before, but I hadn’t ever really noticed it before. You ever done that?

Dave: Oh, yeah! So, what does it say?

Miles: It’s Romans 4, verse 13. It says, quote: “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Unquote. It spells it out right there! Through the promises grasped by faith, we, with Abraham, inherit the world.

And it’s not that far in the future, folks! Prophecy reveals that we are very, very close to the end. Now is the time to make your “calling and election sure.” Now is the time to choose to believe Yah’s promises, make that full surrender, and ask Him to get you ready. He will, because He’s promised.

Please join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *

You have been listening to WLC Radio.

This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.