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Continuing our discussion from part two, consider again all of the facts which surrounded the birth of this new nation. We have a great earthquake which must have really surprised and unsettled a lot of people, and caused them to fear. We can also easily imagine the shock and horror that the Jewish religious leaders must have felt after having gone through a great earthquake, and then discovering that the temple veil had been fully ripped from top to bottom, possibly revealing the Holy of Holies, which was the holiest part of the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant had been formerly placed. Maybe those unbelieving devils realized that the temple veil being torn was a clear sign from God that their days as religious leaders of Israel were now numbered. As I point out in other articles, Caiaphas the high priest certainly seemed aware of the danger they faced. After all, consider what he said when they conspired to kill Jesus several days earlier:

"Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death."


To continue, then we have these hardened Roman soldiers who actually witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Matthew tells us that "they feared greatly" having been observers of these actual events. As if the Lord's own Resurrection was not enough, it is not difficult to imagine the astonishment, shock and fear which must have permeated all of Jerusalem, as her inhabitants found themselves being visited by many of the Old Testament Saints. Oh my gosh! How would YOU react if you were to witness such a thing? Clearly, it would unsettle you, right?

In light of these events, and the people's reactions to them, it makes perfect sense that God would inspire Isaiah to write "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?". By comparison, in my opinion, the political events of May 1948 don't even come close in magnitude, and they certainly do not warrant this kind of a statement from the Prophet Isaiah.

Clearly then, the prophesied birth of this man child, and of this new nation years later was fulfilled to the very letter. It was fulfilled "in one day", and "at once", precisely at the moment that Jesus rose from the dead and became the very first member of said nation. And, as we have seen, if that was not already enough, it was also followed by many of the Old Testament Saints being raised from the dead as well. It resulted in such shock and awe as this world has never seen before, and will not ever see again. Let me share those two verses with you one more time:

"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."


So to reiterate this important point, Jesus became the first begotten of the dead, and thus the founder of our new nation and spiritual temple, as was described by the Apostle Peter. Christ is the Cornerstone of it all, and without His death and subsequent resurrection, none of it would have ever been made possible. Jesus is the firstborn, and the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Likewise, all of the Old Testament Saints who soon followed Him out of their graves are the very first inhabitants of this new nation. Thankfully, some day, we too will follow them into Glory. Consider the following inspiring verses:

"God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."


"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.‭ But God hath revealed ‭them‭ unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.‭ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.‭ Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.‭"


Please note that in Hebrews 11:40 above, the word "perfect" does not mean what you probably think it means. According to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, the original Koine Greek word which is used in that verse -- "teleioo" -- really means that their numbers will not be complete, until all individuals who God the Father has predestinated for Salvation have also been resurrected. God's eternal Plan of Redemption and Salvation extends from the first page of Genesis, to the final page of the Book of Revelation. Everyone who is predestinated to be saved and resurrected, will be, in God's perfect time, and absolutely nothing will hinder His plans.

To continue, if you are not yet fully convinced of everything I have been sharing with you in this series, then allow me to share one final profound truth with you. While some misguided American preachers and Zionist Jews have tried to convince the world that the Prophet Isaiah was talking about the birth of the nation of Israel in May of 1948 -- even though Israel had already existed for thousands of years -- there exists some strong evidence which suggests that Isaiah was not only talking about the birth of a spiritual nation, but also that this new spiritual nation would in large part be comprised of Gentile believers. Does this point surprise you? Well, let's look into this matter, shall we?

In the Scriptures from the Book of Isaiah which we examined earlier, the word "nation" is translated from the Hebrew word "goy". This word, and its plural form, "goyim", almost always refers to people of non-Hebrew -- or non-Jewish -- stock. In other words, it refers to Gentiles, or heathen. Just as many Muslims view all non-Muslims as "infidels", Jewish people -- at least Orthodox Jews -- likewise view non-Jews as heathen. In fact, if you invest some time in examining the Babylonian Talmud -- which is the real holy book of Orthodox Jews -- you will discover that the term "goy" is often used in a rather disrespectful, derogatory sense. Most gentile Believers are not aware of this fact. Perhaps if they were, they would not be so quick to embrace the Jews, and view them as their friends.

So is there more Scriptural evidence to support my view that Isaiah was really prophesying about the birth of a spiritual nation which would in large part be comprised of Gentile believers in Christ, and not about the birth of the modern Jewish nation of Israel in 1948? My friends, yes, there most certainly is, I am happy to say. So where can we find this information? Let's find out.

In the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, after they had watched Jesus perform the "unpardonable sin" of healing a man with a crippled hand on the sabbath day, the Jewish religious leaders -- that is to say, the Pharisees -- took counsel regarding how to destroy Jesus. In spite of their wicked intentions, Jesus kept on healing people anyway; and a few verses later, Matthew quotes from the Prophet Isaiah when he writes the following. Please notice carefully that Isaiah is very clearly stating that Jesus would minister to the Gentiles, and NOT only to the Jews. Furthermore, we see Matthew paraphrase Isaiah by concluding with "And in his name shall the Gentiles trust":

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."


"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law."


"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust."


My friends, this is such an important point -- that is, that the unbelieving Jews would lose the Kingdom, and that Jesus Christ would populate His new spiritual nation with mostly Gentile believers -- that the Apostle Paul also mentions this same prophecy in his Epistle to the brethren at Rome. As we learned in part two, it is also in this same Epistle where Paul informs the brethren that he has become the Apostle to the Gentiles, as we see by the following group of verses:

"And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost."


In the previous sets of verses from the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle to the Romans, the word "Gentiles" is translated from the Koine Greek word "ethnos". This word is basically used in the same way that "goy" is used in the Old Testament to refer to people of non-Hebrew stock. In fact, in Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, it plainly states "Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians". In other words, as opposed to Jewish Christians, such as the original Twelve Apostles, and other early Jewish Christians who helped to jump start the First Century Church.

As we've repeatedly seen throughout this series, the Prophet Isaiah was obviously in tune to the fact that God the Father had plans to raise up a new spiritual nation. Isaiah realized that Jesus would be the founder of this new nation, and that this new nation would in large part be comprised of Gentiles who had embraced Christ. Further evidence that this is so can be clearly seen in the following verses, which are also found in Isaiah chapter forty-two. In the following verses, God the Father is laying out His plans for Jesus, His Son:

"Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."


If you're a sharp student of God's Word, you may realize that this is precisely the prophecy that Jesus Himself read in the synagogue at Nazareth, right before His unbelieving audience tried to throw Him over a cliff. Consider the following verses:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."


Let me emphasize again that the reason why God has taken this particular course of action, is because the majority of Jews have stubbornly refused to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God's chosen manner of Salvation. Sadly, their rebellious attitude has not changed in the last two thousand years, except for a small segment of Jews, such as the ones I mentioned in part one of this same series.

As we learned a moment ago, being a well-versed Pharisee who had been taught by Gamaliel, the Apostle Paul was obviously quite familiar with all of Isaiah's prophecies regarding the coming Messiah, and how the Gentiles would be won to the Kingdom of God. Thus, it is no surprise that when Paul and Barnabas were again rejected by the antichrist Jews in the town of Antioch, Paul simply turned his back on them, and embraced the Gentiles instead. In fact, in the following set of verses, Paul makes a direct reference to Isaiah 42 where the Prophet writes "a light of the Gentiles":

"And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium."


As I explain in other articles, the above scene is typical of the reaction that Paul and his companions received when they tried to share the Christian Gospel with their fellow Jews. Thus, as we have previously discussed, and precisely as Jesus had prophesied, this is why God chose to take the Kingdom from them, and give it to another nation. That is to say, a nation of Gentile Believers which is founded upon faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Earlier we discussed how the Apostle Peter told the brethren that in God's eyes, they were "an holy nation". Some people may be tempted to erroneously argue that being as Peter was a Jew himself, his words were addressed to his Jewish brethren, and that this "holy nation" of which he spoke was the Jewish nation. However, this is most definitely not the case. As we saw with the previous sets of verses, the Greek word that is used in Peter's Epistle is again "ethnos". Clearly then, this "holy nation" is comprised of Gentile Believers. In fact, as I have explained before, God very pointedly showed Peter that he must extend the Gift of Salvation to the Gentile world as well, and not restrict it to the Jews only. As proof of this, consider the following incidents we find in the Book of Acts:

"On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven."


"And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."


Let's return for a moment to my earlier comments regarding Peter's Epistle. If it were indeed true that the people to whom Peter was writing were biological Jews, then it does not make any sense whatsoever that in verse ten, he would write the following to them:

"Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy"


So why doesn't it make any sense for Peter's audience to be biological Jews? Quite simply because the Jews have always considered themselves to be the people of God, even to this very day. In fact, as you probably already know, they have also craftily convinced a large part of modern Christendom that they are still the Chosen People of God, in spite of the fact that most of them have rejected Christ for the past two thousand years. On the other hand, if Peter was in fact writing to Gentile brethren, as I believe he was, it makes perfect sense that he would write in the aforementioned way.

To further validate this particular point, consider that in his Epistle to the Ephesian brethren, the Apostle Paul made the exact same point regarding how the Gentiles had become the people of God through their faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Please carefully notice how Paul was likewise addressing the Gentile Christians in Ephesus. He was not speaking to his own Jewish brethren:

"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles . . ."


To add some clarity to the previous verses, when Paul writes "the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands", he's referring to the Jews who have been circumcised as a matter of obeying the Mosaic Law. In fact, the Book of Acts informs us that at first, some of the legalistic Jewish Christians also believed that the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to really be saved, and they tried to force this on the Gentile brethren. However, Paul strongly resisted this requirement. That is in fact why only two verses earlier, he wrote the following two verses with which many Christians are quite familiar:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


As you may already know, it is those same two verses that got Martin Luther in trouble with the Roman Catholic hierarchy of his day. It seems clear that the "works" that Paul is talking about, is the act of being circumcised. That explains why he immediately begins discussing circumcision in the verses that immediately follow those two. He wants to assure the Gentile Christians that it isn't necessary to be circumcised in order to be saved. All that matters is faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Works of the flesh, such as circumcision, do not win us points with God, and we have no room to boast of our own supposed righteousness. As Paul also later wrote:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


This is a subject which I discuss much more at length in a few other articles which are listed at the end of this same series. I hope you will consider reading them. With this last point, we have now covered a lot of territory. Through this series, it has been my quest to present you with solid Scriptural evidence which proves that certain doctrines which you may have been taught to believe in by some popular pastors and preachers, or perhaps even by the Zionist Jews themselves -- namely interpretations regarding Isaiah 66:7-8 -- are in fact wrong, and in some cases, are a deliberate attempt to deceive you, so that you will be convinced that it is your unfailing duty and responsibility as a Christian to support the nation of Israel. This is simply not so, and it is my prayer that you have begun to see this truth.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

A Temple Veil, an Earthquake and a Centurion
Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts
Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace
Greater Israel Doctrine: Exposed!
Sex, A Bowl of Soup, and the Nature of Angels
Modern Deceptions: Return to Israel, the Fig Tree and This Generation

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