TruthVid's 100 Proofs that the Israelites were White, Part 29: 45, Specific NT Verse misteachings, mistranslations or corruptions in the epistles of Paul, Ephesians

TruthVid's 100 Proofs that the Israelites were White, Part 29

Here once again we continue our discussion of particular passages in Paul’s epistles where certain terms are either mistranslated or misunderstood, adversely affecting the interpretation of the Scriptures throughout the New Testament. Due to the nature and purpose of Paul’s writings there are more of these than there are in all of the other New Testament Scriptures.

45 continued) Specific NT Verse misteachings, mistranslations or corruptions in the epistles of Paul

Discussing the epistle to the Galatians, we hope to have demonstrated that Paul’s language in chapters 3 and 4 of that epistle had purposely described the narrow the scope of the Gospel as being for one particular race of people, to the descendants of only one of the sons of Abraham as opposed to the other sons which Abraham had fathered. Doing that, Paul also identified that race of people, in part, where he told the Galatians that is was they who were under the law and who were therefore redeemed in Christ. Comparing our interpretation of Paul’s epistle to the words of the prophets, the two are in complete agreement, while the mainstream interpretations set Paul in absolute opposition to the prophets. By that we should know that our interpretation is true.

Now we shall move on to Paul’s other letters, beginning with the epistle to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:5, from the King James Version: “4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace…”

The word προορίζω is predestinate in Ephesians 1:5. In the King James Version, it is also translated that way twice in Romans 8:29, 30 and Ephesians 1:11. But in Acts 4:28 it is “determined before” and in 1 Corinthians 2:7 “ordained before”. But in any event, it should be clear that predestination is the act of choosing something beforehand, in this case referring to people who were chosen “ before the foundation of the world”.

The Greek word προορίζω comes from the preposition προ, which is before or in front of, and the verb ὁρίζω, whic is to divide or separate. So in essence it really means preseparated or separated before, a term which can only be used to describe the children of Israel of the Old Testament.

The foundation of the world, or society, is the story of the Bible. But while there was a race of men which were created, there are no men chosen until Abraham, and we may read in Deuteronomy chapter 4 where Moses, speaking of Yahweh God, said to the children of Israel: “ 37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt…”

So even after the Assyrian deportations of the Israelites, we read in Isaiah chapter 41: “8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” This theme is repeated several times throughout the rest of the book of Isaiah. Then over a hundred years later, speaking in reference to both Israel and Judah, we read in Jeremiah chapter 33: “24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off?” In spite of that, in Jeremiah chapter 31 and in Ezekiel chapter 37 we read promises of a new covenant with them, and with them alone.

Then in Isaiah we read of redemption for Israel, first in chapter 41: “13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Then in chapter 44: “6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Then later in that same chapter: “23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. 24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself…”

Again from Isaiah chapter 48: “17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” And again from Isaiah chapter 49: “7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.” Where it says “He shall choose thee” it speaks of the children of Israel, and not the Jews or some “church”. Speaking of the children of Israel in the Babylonian captivity, in the 78th Psalm Asaph wrote: “35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.” Asaph was a prophet of the captivity.

If, according to the words of Paul, those who were redeemed by the cross of Christ were preordained, or “determined before”, then when was that determination made, if it was made in a manner which differs from the words of these prophets? There is absolutely no Scripture supporting the preordination of anyone for the purposes of redemption or salvation outside of the children of Israel. The truth is that the only people who were redeemed were those who were under the law in the first place, and they were predestinated before the “foundation of the world”. Paul of Tarsus, who constantly cited the prophets, was not contradicting them.

So we read in Romans chapter 8: “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

This passage should be cross-referenced to Isaiah chapter 45 where the Word of Yahweh speaks of the children of Israel and we read: “22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” as the children of Israel were prophesied to be scattered to the ends of the earth in their captivity, and then “25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”

So in that passage Paul illustrates three criteria one must meet in order to be justified and glorified by God. One must be 1) called according to the purpose of God, 2) one must be of those whom God foreknew, 3) one must be of the predestinated, or preseparated. In verse 30 Paul is explaining that the called are the foreknown and the predestined. But in Isaiah chapter 41, which we have already cited, the prophet informs us that the children of Jacob are the called and the chosen: “8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.” Then in Amos chapter 3 we see that Yahweh God knew only the children of Israel, out of all of the families of the earth: “1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Only they had the law and sinned, and only they require forgiveness. So where we read in Isaiah chapter 44 that “the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel” we must understand that if Israel is the called, chosen and foreknown, then Israel is also the predestinated, or preseparated who shall be justified and glorified, and there are no others.

The next passage we must examine in this same light is found in Ephesians chapter 2 where we read, from the King James Version: “11 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; 12 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: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

This translation is odd in several ways. First, where it has in verse 11 “that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh” it is suggesting that the Ephesians were no longer “Gentiles in the flesh”, and if by Gentile they believe Paul is referring to non-Jews, does that mean that Gentiles converted to Christianity somehow become Jews? And if so, then how could there be people who are not Christians that are called Jews? The point is that the King James translation always causes confusion.

Notice that in that clause the King James Version added a word which is not in the original, which is being. Furthermore, the word aliens in verse 12 is a noun in English, but the Greek word from which it was translated, ἀπαλλοτριόω, is a verb which means to estrange or to alienate, and not a noun. So in that same passage in our translation of the Greek it reads: “11 On which account you must remember that at one time you, the Nations in the flesh, who are the so-called ‘uncircumcised’ by the so-called ‘circumcised’ made by hand in the flesh, 12 because you had at that time been apart from Christ, having been alienated from the civic life of Israel, and strangers of the covenants of the promise, not having hope and in the Society without Yahweh…”

The word ἔθνος does not mean Gentile, it means nation. The Ephesians were among “the Nations in the flesh”, and as Paul had explained in Romans chapter 4 that the promise of Abraham was to the nations which would come of his seed, and as Paul described the pagan nations of Europe as Israel “according to the flesh” in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Having been descendants of the ancient Israelites, they had been alienated from God, but now had an opportunity to be reconciled to God in Christ. Being alienated from the commonwealth, or civic life as the word πολιτεία may also be translated, does not mean that they were aliens as compared to Israelites. Only Israelites could be alienated from the civic life of Israel as Israelites were commanded to be a separate people in the first place. So Paul is telling the Ephesians that they are descendants of the ancient Israelites, who were alientated from Israel.

Later in the chapter, in Ephesians 2:19: we see another word, πάροικος, which is sojourners and certainly not foreigners, as the King James Version has translated it here, where it says “19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God…” According to Liddell & Scott, πάροικος is an adjective which means dwelling beside or near, and then where it is used as a Substantive, or noun, it is a sojourner, alien, where they cite the New Testament. The corresponding noun παροικία is a sojourning in a foreign land, where they also cite the New Testament. But there are other ways to say alien, to refer to people of another race, and a πάροικος can only be an alien if he is engaged in a παροικία, a sojourning, whereby he is an alien only from the perspective of the people of the land where he is sojourning. Here the Ephesians to whom Paul writes are not in Israel or in any other land but Ephesus, so being Ephesians in Ephesus they cannot be aliens in the manner of a πάροικος unless they are not originally from Ephesus.

So if they are Israelites who were scattered among the nations by Yahweh, as foretold by the prophets, then they would be sojourners, and Paul is describing them as having been alienated from Israel. Sojourners are emigrants, not merely immigrants. A people alienated from their own nation and living abroad are sojourners, for that reason. But Paul could not have called the Ephesians πάροικος if they were in Ephesus, unless they were really not originally from Ephesus. Speaking of the punishment of Israel we read in Jeremiah chapter 14, from the Septuagint: “O Lord, thou art the hope of Israel, and deliverest us in time of troubles; why art thou become as a sojourner upon the land, or as one born in the land, yet turning aside for a resting-place?” There in that passage this same word, πάροικος, appears where in English we see sojourner.

Ephesians 2:20-22: But we cannot neglect to mention once again what Paul wrote in the final three verses of Ephesians chapter 2, in regard to the Ephesians: “20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Earlier in this chapter, writing in verse 16 where it is evident that he is referring to both the Israelites of the captivities, who were the uncircumcised that he mentioned earlier, as well as to the circumcised Israelites of Judaea, Paul said in reference to Christ: “16 … that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” So now in verse 20 he explains that the reconciliation of verse 16 is “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets”.

As we have illustrated here, throughout the prophets, and especially in Isaiah, reconciliation was promised to the children of Israel, so once we translate these words correctly, seeing that they may be translated in a manner which is readily agreeable to the words of the prophets, it is evident that this is also the scope of all of Paul’s statements here, as we have said, that Paul is not in conflict with the prophets, but rather, all of his words – once they are translated correctly, are in agreement with the prophets. But the King James translations often leave Paul in opposition to the prophets. So we must ask, is that an honest way to interpret and translate Paul’s epistles? Or is our way of interpretation more honest, especially when we can defend our application from the lexicons and standard use of grammar?

Now, seeing that Paul was writing to people who were descended from the ancient tribes of Israel, we shall move on to Ephesians 3:1, and we really have to read the first 9 verses, so we will once again start with the King James Version: “1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”

The cause of which Paul spoke is the reconciliation of the Nations on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, which is, according to the terms outlined in the Gospels and in the books of the prophets, which Paul had just explained in chapter 2 of this epistle. But the language of the King James Version seems to obfuscate that assertion, and pervert, or at least, ignore, its meaning.

So here I will compare and discuss individual clauses from that translation with how we have translated the same clauses in the Christogenea New Testament:

KJV Ephesians 3:1: prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles

CNT Ephesians 3:1 captive of Christ Yahshua on behalf of you of the Nations

Why would Paul be a prisoner on behalf of non-Israelites, when two years after he was arrested, he professed before Herod Agrippa II in Acts chapter 26: “6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: 7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.” Likewise we read in Acts chapter 28, after Paul had spoken to the elders of the Judaeans in Rome, as he was accustomed to addressing them first wherever he went: “20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

All the promises of God in the prophets are the hope of Israel, and they are never the hope of any “Gentiles”. If Paul was a prisoner on behalf of the twelve tribes, then here writing to the Ephesians Paul is a prisoner on behalf of the nations which came from those tribes, according to what he had also explained in Romans chapter 4, 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and Galatians chapters 3 and 4.

KJV Ephesians 3:2: If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God

CNT Ephesians 3:2: if indeed you have heard of the management of the family of the favor of Yahweh

As we read in Jeremiah chapter 31, “2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.” This is the only explicit prophesy of grace in the words of the prophets, and it is explicitly promised to the children of Israel in captivity. So where we once again see that word οἰκονομία, which as we dicussed here in reference to Galatians is the management of a household or family, then we shall translate the word in that manner as it can only pertain to the same children of Israel, who also are the prophesied objects of the grace of God.

KJV Ephesians 3:4: when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ

CNT Ephesians 3:4: which reading you are able to perceive my understanding in the mystery of the Anointed 

And once again, we see the word χριστός, which means anointed and as we explained here recently, does not always refer to Christ, but sometimes refers to the collective body of Christ, to Israel as the anointed people. The people of Christ, the nations, are the subject of Paul’s discourse here, and not Christ Himself. We will discuss this further, when we get to verse 9 below.

KJV Ephesians 3:5: as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit

CNT Ephesians 3:5: as it is now revealed in His holy ambassadors and prophets by the Spirit

Here the King James Version creates a lie, as there is no preposition for unto in the text. Rather, the words for “holy apostles and prophets” are in the Dative case, where in English a preposition must usually be inferred. While the Dative Case does often mark the recipient of the action of a verb, the same form is also is used to indicate the means or persons through which an action is performed, or in reference the to time or location of something. These last uses are called the Instrumental and Locative cases, but in Greek they share the same form. In Luke 24:44 and Acts chapter 26 the Greek phrase τοῖς προφήταις is “in the prophets” in the King James Version, where the preposition in was inferred. In Hebrews chapter 1 Paul explained that Yahweh God no longer spoke through prophets, but through Christ. The prophets which Paul refers to here must be the Old Testament prophets, and the meanings of their words are reveasled in the Gospel of Christ.

This reinforces what Paul had said in the closing verses of chapter 2. So here we must examine what is revealed in the prophets, and all we can find is the redemption, grace and salvation of the twelve tribes of the ancient children of Israel. But there is nothing about Jesus having come for “Gentiles”, or for any non-Israelite. So either the King James interpretation is wrong, along with those of the Roman Catholic Church and all modern Christian denominations, or the prophets are wrong and Paul was referring to different prophets. However wherever Paul quoted the prophets, he quoted the prophets which we have in our Bibles, so they are nor different, and they are not wrong.

KJV Ephesians 3:6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel

CNT Ephesians 3:6: those Nations which are joint heirs and a joint body and partners of the promise in Christ Yahshua, through the good message 

Here there is a word, εἶναι, which is a Present Infinitive form of the verb which means to be, and it is are in our translation. But the King James Version translators treated it as a Subjuntive verb and wrote should be, which creates a lie. It may have been translated “the Nations being joint heirs...” Paul was making a statement, and not merely expressing a hypothetical proposition.

The Nations which Paul described are fellow-heirs, as Paul was preaching the Gospel of reconciliation. Paul never preached anything concerning Christ to non-Israelites, not even to the Adamic Japhethite Athenians of Acts chapter 17, or the Lycaonians of Acts chapter 14, neither of whom are Israel.

As we read Paul’s commission in Acts chapter 9, where Christ was speaking to Hananias: “15 But the Prince said to him ‘Go! For he is a vessel chosen by Me who is to bear My Name before both the Nations and kings of the sons of Israel.”

KJV Ephesians 3:8: that I should preach among the Gentiles

CNT Ephesians 3:8: to announce the good message to the Nations

All of the rest of Paul’s words here make perfect sense when we realize that the nations to whom he preached the gospel were the nations which formed out of the promises to Abraham, as Paul himself attested in Romans chapter 4, and the many promises to the Israelites, that they would become a great nation, a company of nations, and many nations. All of that happened from the time of captivity in Egypt and over the ensuing 1,500 years from the Exodus to the time of Christ.

KJV Ephesians 3:8: the unsearchable riches of Christ

CNT Ephesians 3:8: the unsearchable riches of the Anointed

This is a matter of perspective, but we would assert that the riches of Christ are the fulfillments of the promises which He had made to His people Israel. The passage may be read either way.

KJV 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

CNT 3:9: and to enlighten all concerning the management of the household of the mystery which was concealed from the ages by Yahweh, by whom all things are being established.

My notes here are derived from my November, 2015 commentary on this chapter of Ephesians:

The Majority Text adds the phrase translated as “by Jesus Christ” to the end of this verse. While it is not found in the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, we learned from the Interlinear Greek New Testament by George Ricker Berry that manuscripts of the 16th and 17th centuries which were edited by Stephanus and Elzevir, which were in turn based on manuscripts that were first edited by Erasmus, have κοινωνία (Strong's # 2842) here rather than οἰκονομία, and since the King James translators employed the manuscript of Stephenus (Elzevir was later), we read fellowship here in the King James Version instead of οἰκονομία or management of the household.

But the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece does not generally consider the readings of such late manuscripts, and it attests that the manuscripts of the Majority Text all have οἰκονομία, and not κοινωνία. Advocates of the so-called Majority Text usually do not realize that the King James translators sometimes departed from that text, and therefore they themselves did not consider it to be an absolute authority. Neither should the Textus Receptus be confused with the Majority Text. Rather, the Textus Receptus is properly only an edited version of some of the manuscripts of the Majority Text, which was originally completed by the presumably Dutch printer, Elzevir.

So here we encounter the Greek word οἰκονομία once again, and once again our view of the Scriptures and the purpose of the Gospel governs the manner in which we translated the word. Paul had a stewardship, but that stewardship was the management of the household of Yahweh, which was the “family of the faith” as he called them in Galatians chapter 6, which are the children of Israel and Judah being reconciled to God in Christ as it was prophesied in places such as Jeremiah 33:7-8: “7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. ”

So a few verses later, at Ephesians 3:14-17, Paul wrote: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father, from whom the whole family in the heavens and upon earth is named, in order that He would give to you, in accordance with the riches of His honor, the ability to be strengthened through His Spirit in the inner man, to administer the Anointed through the faith in your hearts, being planted and founded in love”.

Paul of Tarsus knew that all of the promises of the Old Testament, including the New Covenant, were for Israel alone, and therefore the children of Israel are also the “family of the faith”. The mystery discussed here by Paul is clearly not “of Christ”, meaning Yahshua. Rather, the mystery is this: if Abraham had descendants as the sand of the sea (Genesis 22:17), and in that manner became the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4), as Sarah would be a mother of nations (Genesis 17:16), and this promise was passed down specifically through Jacob (Genesis 28:3-4, 35:11), and Paul came to know where to find all of these nations, so he professed that the mystery was revealed to him. Today, through a thorough study of ancient history, archaeology and language, the Israelite origins of the people of Europe can be established with certainty, but this was not manifest to the scholars of Paul’s time, nor to very many since.

But the fact that this mystery of which Paul speaks had not been made known to men aforetime is also a matter of the prophecy of Isaiah, where in Isaiah chapter 42 we read: “19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant? 20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. 21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. 25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.”

The servant being spoken of here in Isaiah chapter 42 is defined a little earlier, in Isaiah chapter 41 where we read: “8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.” The restoration mentioned here in Isaiah does indeed come to Jacob, in the form of Christ Himself. Where Paul said that the Nations are joint-heirs in the promises, that is the restoration. The reference to “prison houses” is a reference to the nations to which the Israelites would be sent, where they were scattered, and Christ came “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”, referring to those same children of Israel, which He declared while reading from Isaiah in Luke chapter 4 (Luke 4:18). The blindness mentioned here is also a matter of prophecy in Isaiah 29:10, where Yahweh informed the children of Israel that He “has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.” Blindness is a consequence of disobedience, and therefore in their period of punishment the children of Israel forgot who they were. In Christ, Paul received a revelation which is recorded in Acts chapter 9 where he was appointed by Christ to bear His Name “before both the Nations and kings of the sons of Israel”, as the phrase is translated in the Christogenea New Testament. Through the Scriptures, the Spirit led Paul to the discovery of those very same children of Israel, to whom he brought the Gospel.

Here we shall also reference Isaiah 29:13-14 in regard to this same mystery of which Paul speaks, where the prophet writes concerning Israel and says: “13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” The wisdom of the wise men has perished, and it is still perished as they scoff at the Gospel of the reconciliation of true Israel to Yahweh their God. The understanding of prudent men is hid, and it is a struggle indeed to reach our people with this message of the true Gospel of Christ. We would encourage all Christians to read the whole of Isaiah, as well as the other prophets, in this historical context, because Covenant Theology is the profession and acceptance of the entire Word of God, without corrupting the meanings of plain words.