The Mystery of the Gospel

[Beck]

As I look at the number of times that Paul maded mention of an 'mystery' I've come to realize that in all there's only one mystery. That being of Christ and the church or as Paul related the Gospel going out to the Gentiles, the resurrection of the dead.

Now I've maded the argument that the word Gentiles 'ethnos' would be better translated and understood as nations or multitudes, peoples given no respect of race or nationality. Now lets understand that the gospel purpose was to save the lost souls, now given that understanding how might the gospel going out to the Gentiles save them? If taken the prespective that those saved from Israel the Jews was being saved from the destruction and judgment that which was to come upon Jerusalem.

Paul spoke of this 'mystery' of the gospel in 1 Cor. 15:51 and said that not all shall sleep (death), but we shall all be saved. Here Paul said that all should be saved and spoke of 'we' which is inclusive of those Corinthians (Greeks). This again is parallel to this message to the Romans 11:25 in which he again spoke of this mystery. In this mystery it is the message going out to the Gentiles and in this event that it might provoke some of the natural branch to believe and be grafted back into thier own olive tree. The point I would like to focus on is those Gentiles that Paul said he was an aplostle unto and how that might work into the the Fulness of the Gentiles so that all of Israel might be saved.

Therefore if the scrattering of the children of Israel unto the nations will being about the gospel going unto the nations in this all twelve of the tribes of Israel will be represented and thus saved and restored. I would like for us to notice that Paul said in Corinthians that not all shall sleep, now I have also argued that 'sleep' is somethings meant to be that of some hearing the word and then doubt or falling away from the truth. Which it seemed that some had fallen alseep (1 Cor.15:5) but as you notice that Paul had stated that the dead is to be rasied. Again looking at Romans 11 Paul said of those that stumble at the truth shall fall (casted away), but that some by the gospel going to the multitdues be provoked and believe. Paul said of those that recieved as them receiving life from the dead.(Romans 11:15)

We then have some of those that sleep being rasied to life, thus Paul said that we all shall be change, meaning all of Israel shall be saved. So lets go back to gospel going out to the nations. In true context of Paul message in Romans, Corinthians, Galations, Ephesians the Paul often mentioned the Law and often said that he was speaking to those that know the Law. Just how might the Gentiles (non-Israelites) know the Law of Moses? Just how often does Paul speak of them as being his brethren, kinsmen of his flesh? A more interesting question comes from if the gosepl truly was to be accepted by pagan heathen people and said to be unto the fulness. If understood that don't mean that every Gentile will come to God to make this fulness, but that the full number of the twelve tribes be represented in the new Jerusalem. Simply meaning that a remnant of the house of Israel and a remnant of the house of Judah shall be saved, so that all of Israel be saved. This also means that the fulness of the Gentiles came to pass in the first century.

CONCLUSION

The mystery then is that the gospel is not only for those that keep the Old Covenant Laws, but also for those of the house of Israel those that have being scratter unto the nations. Those of Israel that kept not the Old Covenant and went after other gods and idols would have the same oppertunity as the house of Judah. The parallel of the Lost Son comes into play in that the son that leaves and returns the father says that son was once dead and now lives. This is the picture that Jesus tells of the house of Israel that once knew God and left and now has return from the dead.

[Beck]

I guess no one could understand my babbling... So let me put it another way. As I see it from an Full Preterist prespective the Fulness of the Gentiles would have come to fulness at the ending of that generation. Paul spoke of that generation as holy priest hood, the chosen of God, an chosen generation, a royal priest hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.

Paul would in 1 Peter 4:7 tell them that "the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer". So if one was to take that when Paul spoke of Gentiles coming into the kingdom of God it seems that Paul was saying that it was only for that generation and not for any other. This forces us to rethink about the church of today. I mean if they were to be saved from death and hell and second death which is the wrath of God upon that wicked generation. What then is salvation of today? What are you actually saved from? Seem Paul maded it clear that within that generation would all things come to an end. Thus if the gospel was to go out to the Gentiles if they were pagan heathens it was only for a very limited time (that generation), Then again if Gentiles mean those of the children of Israel from the seed of Ephraim that had been carried away and now know through the message going out unto them would bring them back into the fold, again it's a very limited time. By the time of Christ, centuries after both the Babylonian Exile and the Assyrian Exile, there were still people known from the tribe of Asher. And that some of the Jews asked where was Jesus going...was he going to the dispersed among the Gentiles?

Luke 2.36:
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.

John 7:35
Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

Considering the northen kingdom captial of Samaria where Israelites lived in the time of Christ and were considered 'dogs' given meaning that they were a 'unclean animal' or 'lowly servants'. The Jews considered them to be under the Curse of Canaan, and to be half-breeds. Jesus said as much and told his disciples to not go unto Samaria, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Well Samaria was the house of Israel, but I gather that we should take what Jesus said as the house of Judah (Jews) Go to the Jews first. We find out later then the gospel was to go unto the Gentiles 'Multitudes' that Philip goes down to Samaria and proclaimed unto them Christ.

So the mystery might just be that the Jews had written off the northern tribes becasue they no longer keep the Laws of Moses, but Paul told them he would not have them ignorant of this mystery that their own blindness has made the way for the fulness of the Multitudes.