Jesus Christ prophesied of a time when the world would be in a state of terror, death and destruction that would be worse than all of the previous curses He had placed on mankind–COMBINED (Mat. 24:21). This 3 1/2 year period is prophesied to take place just prior to His return to earth. He called the coming world holocaust “the times of the Gentiles.”

The word “Gentiles” refers to all of the world’s population that is not Israelite–descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name God changed to “Israel,” meaning “power with God.” Spiritual Israelites (God’s true church) has power with God. In the Hebrew language “Gentile” means heathen, pagan–anyone not an Israelite. Perhaps the best description of people known as “Gentiles” is found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, a church comprised of CONVERTED GENTILES. These were SPIRITUAL ISRAELITES who had become God’s people (spiritual Israelites) by obeying His Law and embracing His Son as their Messiah. One out of two was not enough then and is not enough now. In 2:11-22 Paul reminds these spiritual Israelites that in times past they had been spiritual Gentiles, living in the flesh (darkness–sin). “At that time you were WITHOUT CHRIST, BEING ALIENS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH (TRIBES) OF ISRAEL AND STRANGERS FROM THE (OLD AND NEW) COVENANTS OF PROMISE, HAVING NO HOPE AND WITHOUT GOD IN THE WORLD.” Spiritual Gentiles (Law-rejecters) are without God in their earthly lives. Nothing has changed.

Paul goes on to remind them that, as spiritual Gentiles (sinners/heathen) they had been “FAR OFF” FROM GOD, but had been made one with Him and Israel by the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus had abolished the law of ordinances (the sacrificial, ritualistic law) and, in so doing, had brought the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel through the Holy Spirit. Now the biological Gentiles were no longer strangers and foreigners, but were of the household of God (His church) which was (and is) built upon the foundation of the teachings of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Now spiritual (Law-obeying) Israelites and spiritual (Law-obeying) Gentiles were perfectly fitted together and are the temple of the Lord–His spiritual residence. Law-rejecting Israelites were no different from spiritual Gentiles in God’s view. Nothing has changed.

In order to understand the significance of the Israelite-Gentile connection we will momentarily return to the Garden of Eden and examine that connection and its effect on the whole of mankind through both Biblical and secular history. We will take a general look into several eras of mankind’s history in order to see the effects on mankind when God’s people (true spiritual, Law-keeping Israelites) were in power, then contrast those eras to the periods when the heathen (God-rejecting) Gentiles are in power.

From creation week for an unknown amount of time everything went smoothly on earth as Adam and Eve obeyed God’s Law. Life could not have been better. After Adam’s fall the world immediately took a turn for the worst as Satan’s people–Adam, Eve and Cain–took over, beginning with Cain’s killing of his brother Abel–God’s lone servant.

Over the following unknown number of generations the world was ruled by those who served Satan. With one exception–Noah. Recall that mankind, with the exception of Noah, became so sinful that God had to destroy every human being and every creature except Noah and his family–eight people. God, through Moses, describes the rest of mankind this way: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that the thoughts of his heart (mind) were only on evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Only Noah, who “walked with God,” was found worthy of God’s grace. God saved Noah’s family so as to repopulate the earth. Thus we see that when God is not in charge of the world, Satan is in charge. And for many generations he remained in charge.

Then God raised up a man named Abraham to be the progenitor of His chosen people–Israel. Through his sons Isaac and Jacob (Israel) He raised up a people who would be His “light to the Gentiles,” some of whom would come to their light and join them in worship of and obedience to their Creator (Isa. 42:6; 60:3). Let us keep in mind that man has always had free moral agency. From Eden to the modern world, man has had the power of choice, just as did the angels, 1/3 of whom chose to follow Lucifer in rebellion against God. Man had chosen to follow Satan. The descendants of Abraham (the Israelites) would serve as God’s light to lead the Gentile world away from Satan and to Himself. The nation of Israel would present God to the world through her obedience to Him. God declared that He would be Israel’s everlasting light to the Gentile world (Isa. 60:30).

Initially, Israel did obey their God and Satan’s power over much of mankind was broken. Righteousness was found in Israel, with some exceptions. Generally speaking, “God’s chosen people” fulfilled their role of light-bearers to the Gentiles. They would continue to be His source of holiness and Truth, IF they continued to obey Him. Biblical history reveals that they did not. Over time she pushed Him out of their lives and institutions. As Israel rebelled against Him, Satan regained control of the world. As a result of Israel’s rebellion against Him, God sent heathen (Gentile) forces against them who defeated them and scattered the survivors throughout the world where, with the exception of the Jews, they remain unknown today (Jer. 9:16; 23:1; 49:36). The Israelites settled among the Gentile nations and became so heathenized that today hundreds of millions of biological Israelites do not know who they are. They believe that they are biological Gentiles. Because they identify as Gentiles, they have become “lost” to themselves and to those among whom they live. For this reason they are known as The Lost Tribes of Israel. God and His true saints know who and where they are. Read Who and Where is Israel Today. Key word–Who.

The descendants of those scattered Israelites gained leadership positions in the Gentile nations into which they settled. Because of their superior mental capacities, and being God’s people, they ascended into leadership positions and remain in those positions to this day. These nations are called “Christian” today but are Christian in name only as they have allowed Satan to pervert God’s Gospel through his false prophets. The Christianity of those nations is, as Paul told the Galatians, a perverted version of the true Gospel (1:6-9).

The nation of Israel, having failed in her role as Gpd’s light to the Gentiles, allowed Satan to once again take control of the world. For generations the entire world was once again ruled by him as sin and degradation became the norm, just as it was before the flood in Noah’s day. Only a minutely few people remained true to the Lord.

Then the merciful God He sent His fellow God, called “the Word” (Jn. 1:1-4,14) into the world as a man to once again form a group who would believe and obey Him. As a human being the Word was known as Jesus of Nazareth Who became the pattern for true God seekers to follow. Then, in 31 A.D., God’s church was formed and was called “The Church of God.” Ten times in the New Testament His one and only church is called by that name. In one instance it is called the “Churches of Christ,” meaning that Christ is the Head of God’s churches. Their church has no divisions, denominations, faiths, churches, cults, sects, etc. (Rom. 12:5/ 1 Cor. 12:12; 14:13/ Eph. 4:4-6). God’s church is an Israelite institution, meaning its people obey His Law. All others bearing the name “church” are Gentile institutions whom Paul described in Ephesians 2:11-22 which I quoted earlier in this posting. As I have explained numerous times, such Law-rejecting “churches” are not God’s church, which is founded on His Law, which the counterfeit churches reject. Though He calls those in Law-rejecting groups “My people who are called by My name,” they are not His true, remnant, peculiar, holy church which makes up only a tiny portion of those within His “sheepfold” (church). Read The Apostasy of the Church. Key word–Apostasy, in which I show how the world, led by the fallen church, has embraced Satan. Part 4 zeros in on the “sheepfold” where all who are called God’s people are found. The vast majority of those in the “sheepfold” are, by God’s definition, goats, tares, bad fish, bad fruit trees, etc. That which calls itself “the church” is leading the world back into Satan’s embrace, all the while professing the Biblical God as her God. Her false prophets (shepherds) keep her people ignorant of God’s Word and separated from His apostles. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF SATAN OVER THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS.

Which brings us to the modern world in which Satan is once again in charge of everything, everyone , everywhere. Only one group–God’s tiny remnant comprised of a few thousand souls world-wide– continue to believe and obey Him while the rest of the world bows to His and their ultimate enemy. At present, many of the other “churches” are trying to out-sin and out-include their religious competitors in service to and in adoration of the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). The so-called “church” is leading the entire Gentile world in a mass, hell-bound rush to rid herself of all that is holy, just and good–God’s Law (Rom. 7:12; 2:13/ 1 Jn. 3:4). L.J.