Results 281 - 300 of 500
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
281 | Are children also baptized too? | Acts 16:15 | Reformer Joe | 18645 | ||
Rick: It depends on who you ask. It is a very good question. I would like to hear from those from both sides on this one. Did the household baptized include children of believers? Did it include servants, as some attest? If not, whom did the household include? Simply put, are all in the household believers or not? --Joe! |
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282 | Can other writing be God inspired? | Acts 20:7 | Reformer Joe | 50514 | ||
You wrote: "If the men who wrote the Bible were God-inspired, why can't others be God-inspired as well?" Because God didn't inspire them. Only the books of the Old and the New Testaments are "God-breathed." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) While other Christian books may be accurate and useful works, they do not consist of "new revelation" and are not infallible (i.e. incapable of being wrong) but rather serve as reflection and commentary on the inspired works. The same can be said of good preaching. Good preachers correctly interpret and apply what God has inspired (the Scriptures), but they do not add to Scripture or mainatin any sense of being infallible. If we start claiming that excellent books written in the course of church history are "God-breathed," then in effect what we are saying is that the canon of Scripture is not closed. The only works that are declared to be standards for faith and practice are the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, and with them God's self-revelation is complete. --Joe! |
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283 | Huge Impact? | Romans | Reformer Joe | 22027 | ||
Charis: What I mean is simply this: what we think about when we think about God impacts the entire way our spritual life operates. A very good example is the World Trade Center incident. How does one respond to someone who says, "Where was God on the morning of September 11? How can a loving, holy, all-powerful God let something like this happen?" I have heard some very well-meaning Christians give some very unbiblical answers which deny God's omniscience and sovereignty and power to keep Satan in check. All of these errors are based on bad theology. Therefore, one's theology is what one reveals when talking about God. It also impacts our life. Our worship and service to God are completely different is we hold that God is primarily here for us, rather than the biblical truth that WE exist for HIS glory. The former leads to selfishness and Christian laziness; the latter tends to lend itself to God-centered worship and a yielding and (dare I say?) obedience toward Christ. All theology truly held will define our attitudes toward God and our actions as believers. That includes whether one has a Calvinist view or an Arminian one. Again the differeences aren't salvific, but they are important ones. Whenever we talk about sinful man's ability or inability to do good or follow Christ, or the extent and character of God's sovereignty, we are touching on issues over which we will (respectfully, I hope) disagree. --Joe! |
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284 | Didn't God give man freedom of choice? | Romans | Reformer Joe | 66341 | ||
Teacher: That is an excellent question. The differences between the Reformed and Arminian positions have been well-debated here. I recommend that you try a quick search on the right using the terms "free will" or "predestination" or "elect." You will find enough posts to choke up just about any server on earth. I waould also recommend Jonathan Edwards' work entitled "Freedom of the Will": http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/will/home.html --Joe! |
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285 | eager to preach the gospel to believers? | Rom 1:15 | Reformer Joe | 87891 | ||
Because the gospel is what should be preached every Sunday. It is for believers, too! Law (God's requirements of us) and gospel (what God has done for us in Christ to meet the judicial requirements of that law) are the two sides of all good preaching. --Joe! |
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286 | response | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 20529 | ||
"The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." --Proverbs 16:9 "Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand." --Proverbs 19:21 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'MY PURPOSE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'" --Isaiah 46:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:10 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but GOD MEANT IT for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." --Genesis 50:20 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations" --Jeremiah 1:5 "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." --Exodus 3:10 The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. --Exodus 4:21 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. --Exodus 7:3 [Do a Bible search for the words "harden" and "heart" and see how many times Pharoahs heart was hardened BY God or hardened, "as the LORD had said."] "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing WHAT I DESIRE, And without SUCEEDING IN THE MATTER FOR WHICH I SENT IT." --Isaiah 55:11 "So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires." --Romans 9:18 Whatever succeeds is part of God's sovereign plan. Even our sin. The sin is ours and we are guilty of it, but it is part of God's purpose as well. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." --Romans 8:28 I would assume that all things includes the sins of men as well. HIS purpose, not ours. Unless, of course, we share in God's purpose. Then it is our purpose as well. Even the sin we commit is part of God's decree and what we intend for evil God has already planned to use for His glory. Even two families showing up... --Joe! |
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287 | God's Plan? | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 20639 | ||
Johnny: Adam and Eve, being untainted by original sin, did have free choice. God also knew from the beginning what their choice would be, wouldn't you agree? Therefore, before even creating Adam and Eve, he had in mind His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ for their sin. God's warning for them meant that they knew what the deserved consequences of their action would be once they committed it. "Second I post the question that do you think Lucifer become God's opposer is also part of God's plan? Do you mean God created Lucifer so he will become the Devil? Please answer this!" We have two possible options here: 1. God created Lucifer, not knowing that he would rebel against Him. 2. God created Lucifer, knowing full well that he would rebel against Him. The decision was Lucifer's, but I cannot accept option 1 with an omniscient God. Can you? "If your answer is Yes! and then you have to accept that it is part of God's plan that to many souls will go to hell part of his plan. Answer this." I will let Paul answer for me: "Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath PREPARED for destruction?" --Romans 9:21-22 You wrote: "Do you think when Saul appopinted by God to become a king of Israel it God also oschestrated saul to become Bad so God can replace him and put David as a new king? What kind of God is that?" First of all, Saul didn't BECOME bad. We are all BORN bad. We do not come out of the womb morally neutral, but rather predisposed toward displeasing God in all that we do. And David was already part of the plan, yes. God revealed in Genesis that kings and the Redeemer would come out of the line of Judah. Read Genesis 49:8-10. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. Tell me what God's plan was. In addition, Saul was God's choice for king at that time in part to show the folly of Israel wanting a king in the first place. Read 1 Samuel 8. "Do you think it part of God's plan that kill people in flood in the time of Noah?" Whose plan was it if not God's? You wrote: "If all things happened because of God's plan all wars happen in this world God who the one oschestrated! I know war is part of Jesus prophecy in the bible, because He knows it going to happen but it is not mean that He is the one oschestrated it to happen." God does indeed orchestrate wars. God commanded Israel to wage war against the Canaanites in Joshua. Read the book of Jeremiah to see that God does indeed bring about war for His purposes. Read in particular verses like Jeremiah 16:10 and 18:8 and 18:11 amd 19:3 and 19:15 and 23:12. Who is bringing the calamity upon Judah? God. In what form? Invasion from Babylon. Does Babylon intend to serve God by invading Judah? Absolutely not, but their sinful act serves God's purposes. Finally, Johnny, with all due respect, you completely ignored evrything that I brought up in my previous post, most especially those passages from the Bible which clearly support my point. If I am wrong in my assessment of how God has revealed himsefl, please go back to thses verses that I brought up and explain to me how they are not saying what I think they are saying. In other words, what do they really mean? --Joe! |
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288 | God's plan | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 20646 | ||
"It was mentioned that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot,if it is God's plan, do you mean God coordinated Satan to entered Judas so he can betray Jesus Christ? Please explain this." Satan was all too happy to participate in the murder of Jesus Christ. God allowed Satan to do what he wanted with Judas so that His purpose would be served. Go read Job 1-2. Who brings the destruction on Job? Who brings Job to Satan's attention? Who must Satan get the "go-ahead" from in order to cause Job's calamity? Look at verse 2:10. Whom did Job recognize as the ultimate source of his distress? Satan's purpose is to cause as much distress for the creation of God as he possibly can. However, he cannot act without the permission of a sovereign God who ultimately rules over all. Again, Judas never BECAME bad. We all start out that way. If you want justice, Johnny, we all go to Hell, because none of us deserve to have a holy God take on flesh, live a sinless life among a sinful creation and die for those who will trust in him. You wrote: "If all things happened because it was God’s plan, you have to accept that God is happy with the wars and terrorist attack because his plan happened." God can decree something and at the same time not be happy with it. Let me ask you a few questions: 1. Did God not know from eternity past that the terrorism would take place? 2. Did he not allow every part of the plan to succeed just as it did? 3. Wasn't he powerful enough to stop it at any time? 4. Assuming that agree that God had always known about September 11 and saw every step of the plan taking place and and knew every thought in the mind of those terrorists, and that he was powerful enough to stop it, how can you conclude that the attack WASN'T part of His decree? For a more thorough analysis of that idea, I want to point you to a good article which tells the Biblical truth behind the question you ask: http://www.desiringgod.org/Online_Library/OnlineArticles/FreshWords/2001/091701.htm God decreed a much more evil act than Judas' betrayal or the World Trade Center tragedy. He decreed that His own perfect, blameless Son would die for crimes of spitiual treason that He didn't commit. If God hadn't decreed that, oh what trouble we would be in! --Joe! |
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289 | Workout your own salvation | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 20664 | ||
Before I go on answering another list of questions, tell me how I misused Scripture before. Let's stick to one set of issues before going off in another direction. --Joe! |
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290 | God repented | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 20890 | ||
Johnny: You wrote: "What I mean Joe, is If I am going to eat steak in my breakfast and not beacon, because I want beacon and not because God who plan that I am going to eat steak and not beacon. This is my stand." Have your steak...your decision, and God's decree to let you have your steak. You wrote: "If I am not mistaken (correct me if I am wrong) Your believed is from the beginning everything that will happened to anyone because it was God's plan. Meaning if in this year 2001 when someone become a prostitute becuase it the plan of God to them. And there is no single happened to anyone outside God's plan." You are mixing up what happens to us (like getting hit by a stray baseball) with decisions we make (e.g. whether or not we become prostitutes). What happens to us beyond our control is God's sovereign plan. What we do that opposes God's moral will (that is, sinning) is not something that God WANTS us to do, but in his sovereignty He allows us to do it, and has already factored in our sinning into His sovereign plan. He doesn't morally desire for someone to become a prostitute, but He knows that such a decision will be made before the prostitute does and has decreed that it will happen. God's decree is not merely what He morally wishes for us to do, but also what he allows us to do. If we purpose in our hearts that we will sin, God in his sovereignty will control how and when that sin is expressed and will limit the effects of that sin according to His decree. In the case of Noah, we see from a human perspective that God was grieved at what he saw. Are we then to conclude that he didn't know that the world was going to get that bad? There is a whole branch of really bad theology out there called open theism, which basically says that God doesn't know the future. Assuming that you believe God knew the world would get that bad, when did he know that? From eternity past. Could God have prevented the world from getting that bad? Absolutely. Why didn't He? That's a good question, but the fact remains that He always knew the world would become extremely wicked and that He would take the action that He did. Johnny, if we have a God who is really changing His mind based on what people do, then He either doesn't know the future actions of men or He isn't a very decisive and all-wise God. The nature of human beings when they are born is to rebel against God in everything that they do. God changes the hearts of some and lets others suffer their just condemnation. Left to our own natural selves, sinners will do things that displease God, but He allows them to do so within certain boundaries and uses their sinful intent for His glory. And that is God's decree. --Joe! |
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291 | Which country is God's Nation | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 21469 | ||
Johnny: I don't think you read those Jeremiah verses. I was not referring specifically of God's commands for Israel to go to war. I was also pointing out God raising up armies AGAINST rebellious Israel...armies that do not acknowledge the one true God but who are used as His instrument of judgment nonetheless. Whether Jesus specifically commanded anyone to go to war or not is not the issue. The question you raised is whether God decrees that bad things happen for His purposes and whether we can frustrate God's sovereign plan for anything with our actions. And the biblical answers are "yes" and "no," in that order. --Joe! |
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292 | Kind of truth | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 27354 | ||
Zion: In addition to Lionstrong's comments, I would just like to point out that the rest of the Romans passage itself points out what that truth is: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." --Romans 1:18-20 So while Jesus was the clearest expression of God that has ever been revealed to the world, Romans 1 is speaking of things that have been clearly seen (and yet suppressed) since the creation of the world (i.e. creation itself). This is what theologians refer to as "the light of nature" or "general revelation." This truth has been made known to all, been made evident within all men, and yet in our sin we reject it. This revelation reveals God the Father to us, but this revelation reveals nothing about salvation for the sinner. That is when we come to the Bible, the other level of "truth": "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." --John 17:17 Scripture, in that it reveals everything we need to know regarding the salvation that is through Christ alone, is often termed "special revelation." This self-revelation on God's part is above and beyond the general revelation in creation that simply leaves sinful humans without an "out." The biblical narrative, properly seen as Creation (Genesis 1-2), Fall (Genesis 3:1-14). and Redemption (Genesis 3:15-Revelation 22:21) presents the revelation needed to save the sinner. Therefore, in answer to your question (I think), the truth presented in Romans 1:1-3:18 is the truth that CONDEMNS the sinner. Verses 3:21-24 begin to reveal the gospel, which is the truth that SAVES the sinner. Hope this helps steer the discussion along! --Joe! |
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293 | THANK YOU JOE | Rom 1:18 | Reformer Joe | 27424 | ||
Zion: Glad I could help! I suppose that your second question has to do with Romans 1:21. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." This is a continuation of Paul's previous discussion on God revealing himself clearly in creation. This verse begins the response of sinful humanity to God's self-revelation. God, by virtue of being the creator and infinite in his perfection is absolutely deserving (and rightfully demanding) of our total praise and obedience. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it, our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. That was the purpose for which we were created. However, thanks to the Fall, our natures have been corrupted and we no longer serve the purpose for which we have been created (i.e. total allegiance and worship and obedience of God). R.C. Sproul uses the term "cosmic treason" to describe this supression of God's revealed truth and our unwillingness to honor God as the God that he is. Therefore, the judgment that will befall those who have rejected Christ is not based on rejecting Christ in itself, but this rebellion against God the Father. We all stand guilty of rebellion against our perfect Creator. Only those in Christ are forgiven of that sin and the sins resulting from that. The rest of Romans 1 illustrates the result of such defiance of God and the depths of the depravity to which God gave humanity over. --Joe! |
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294 | How does God make Himself known? | Rom 1:20 | Reformer Joe | 6792 | ||
Through nature (Romans 1), which points to an Intelligent Designer. Through direct, divine revelation (Take your pick of a whole host of passages, but Revelation 1 and Isaiah 6 are a couple of my personal favorites). NOTE: This is not a "dime-a-dozen" thing that any of us should expect or actively seek. Most definitely through the earthly ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1). Most clearly for us in the 21st century? Through His word, the Bible. Both in the Old Testament, by his Law (Psalm 119:97-104) and in the New, by means of the Gospels and the epistles (2 Timothy 3:16). Want to know what God is like? Read His book! --Joe! |
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295 | Is God somehow responsible? | Rom 1:20 | Reformer Joe | 70091 | ||
Here are a couple of observations I wanted to make. You wrote: "However, one must accept, a fact. The culmination of all the circumstances in ones life is what influences one to make the decisions he or she makes." Our circumstances do exert significant influence on us, but it would be unbiblical to say that we are merely blank slates upon which our life experiences write. Since the fall, we are in bondage to sin until we become Christians. Our sin might express itself in different ways due to our respective circumstances, but we willingly commit the sins we do. We come into this world as an enemy of God, and until we are reconciled through Jesus Christ, that is how our lives are lived. You wrote: "Now he knew that because of the way Cain would be raised and because of the circumstances and environments around him that he would refuse to give the sacrifice God wanted and insist upon his own way." And yet Abel didn't, being raised in the same circumstances... "Since the choices in life we make are based on the large compendium of circumstances which have occured to us, then God almost has seemed to have created both the saved and doomed sinner." God did create the saved and the doomed sinner, but we are more than the product of our circumstances. We are not simply "programmed," as you directly state or imply in your post. We come in this world wanting to sin. And absolute, unmediated justice on God's part is that we all go to hell. Anything else is an exhibition of God's mercy. God did create knowing that the fall would happen, but those who go to hell get what they deserve, and the Christian does not. --Joe! |
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296 | Adam and Eve's nature not corruptible? | Rom 1:20 | Reformer Joe | 70308 | ||
That is precisely what I meant. Thanks for the correction! --Joe! |
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297 | What is God doing in Rom 1:24, 26? | Rom 1:24 | Reformer Joe | 13151 | ||
Steve: Since it is the Holy Spirit who regenerates the sinful heart, "giving them over" carries the idea of not restraining them and letting their sinfulness run its full course. Does God call some of them to Himself (I don't use back in the case of individuals because they never really were with Him in the first place)? Yes, just like he calls malicious murderers and greedy gossips into a relationship with Him (like those mentioned in 1:29) Notice that this has occurred after the sinful man has already rejected God, exchanging His truth clearly revealed in nature for a lie, which is what all of us did in our hearts before the Lord called us. Paul is referring to the excesssive pagan practices here that clearly demonstrate just what lengths man goes to in his rejection of Him. And From the thrust of Romans 1-3, my understanding is that Romans 1:24-32 is merely a non-exhaustive list of examples of how our universal depravity manifests itself. --Joe! |
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298 | what about inerrancy? | Rom 1:29 | Reformer Joe | 36864 | ||
A good document describing the Christian doctrine of biblical inerrancy is the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. This document answers a lot of the questions you may have and also addresses a lot of the misconceptions about that doctrine. You can find it on the Web at: http://www.reformed.org/documents/icbi.html Another good article on inerrancy by James Montgomery Boice can be found here: http://216.55.6.79/features/inerrancy.html May God bless you! --Joe! |
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299 | Dying for our sins? | Rom 3:26 | Reformer Joe | 64159 | ||
"In Christianity the base of our belief was that Jesus died for our sins but why must God sacrifice his son to forgive us why couldnt he just forgive us?" Because a just God must punish sin. Justice is an immutable characteristic of the Christian God. Either Jesus faced God's just wrath for your sins or you will forever. "isnt he all powerfull and all loving how can a all loving father sacrifice his son just for a fruit that was eaten." He didn't. "And it also doesnt seem fair that all people before Jesus died with the original sin, why are they punished for something they didnt do doesnt seem logical" Rest assured: all non-Christians will pay for what they HAVE done. SIn is any failure to conform to God's law, or any transgression of God's law. Forget original sin; how about the sin that originated with you? --Joe! |
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300 | Are present day Christians the new Jews? | Rom 3:29 | Reformer Joe | 32321 | ||
We are not genetically members of the Jewish race, of course. However, we are the spiritual decendents of Israel. Here are some verses which support that: "And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise." --Galatians 3:29 "For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all" --Romans 4:16 It is also very clear that, spiritually speaking, all of those in the twelve tribes were not themselves members of Israel: 'But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.' --Romans 9:6-8 Jesus tells the Pharisees who their father is: "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." --John 8:44 John the Baptist also testifies that the spiritual children of Abraham did not have to come from the twelve tribes of Israel: 'But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham."' --Matthew 3:7-9 Romans 11 also talks about the Gentiles being grafted into the root of Israel. Many people erroneously call this view "replacement theology," but that is a mistake because this view does not hold that the church has taken the place of Israel, but that the church is the natural outgrowth of the covenant with Abraham, which includes all (Jews and Gentiles) who trust in Christ for their salvation. Paul indicates in Romans 11 that there is only a "partial hardening" of the Jewish race until the fulness of the Gentiles come in. In any case, we can concluse the following things from reading the Bible: 1. Not all those who were of the twelve tribes were faithful to God and his redemptive revelation (that is easy to see in both Testaments). 2. Salvation for everyone is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. There is not a "separate track" for today's Jews to be saved. 3. The Bible clearly indicates that believing Gentiles share in the covenant promise made to Abraham made in Genesis 15, which leads many to call the faithful in Israel the "OT church" and those believing in Christ since the resurrection the "NT Israel" Hope that helps! --Joe! |
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