I have just completed my piece of writing seeking to engage with the understanding of ‘Israel’ as distinct from ‘Jew’ in second temple Judaism and Paul’s use lining up with that (a big acknowledgement to the work of Jason Staples on that aspect). I will in a short while put up a video of this (much shorter than the pdf, which is 60 pages long… but not big pages!) and hopefully get an Open Zoom where you can nod in agreement / push back in a suitable open discussion format! I will put notice to both of those here.
For now if you wish to download / read – maybe with a coffee in hand and an open Bible when it gets to Romans 9-11. Something in it for everyone I hope!!
This is the final post here on ‘Jew, Israel and Gentile’. I am in a final edit of my extended article and will include what is below and then expand on Romans 9-11 in a deeper way. By the end of next week all will be revealed!
Paul’s arguments are somewhat dense at times and his use of phrases and words mean we need to go slowly!
In these chapters Paul is concerned to show that God has been faithful to his promises to people he describes as being his own flesh and blood (Israelites – an ethnic term). He insists that God has not abandoned his promises. He draws from history that not all who are physically descended from Abraham are ‘Israel’, even though they are ‘of Israel’. Drawing on Scripture he uses the illustration of Ishmael and Isaac: they were both ethnically descended from Abraham but the ‘seed’ is through Isaac. Then he uses the story of Esau and Jacob with Jacob being chosen, and the choice not on the basis of works. In using those two illustrations he is effectively saying that neither ethnic descent nor even living by the works (of Torah) are sufficient. These were the two foundational understandings by which ‘Israel’ could lay claim to being the true ‘seed’ of Abraham.
God has not rejected his people – evidence Paul himself has found faith and history informs us that those who were the people of covenant were always a remnant (a part of the whole). He references Elijah and the 7000 faithful people to illustrate this point.
Israel has always been likened to an Olive Tree and consistent with history unfaithful branches have been cut off, the remaining branches are drawing from the root, and at the same time ‘wild branches’ have been grafted in. He instructs those wild branches not to be arrogant and he holds out hope for branches that have currently been cut off to be regrafted – conditional on their repentance, not something that will simply occur automatically. Those wild branches are from the Gentiles / nations… among those ‘other nations’ the northern kingdom of ‘Israel / Ephraim’ has been sown. So as the ‘Gentile branches’ are grafted in two aspects take place: northern tribes are coming in (for they were scattered among the nations) and the Gentiles are incorporated into Israel. The tree that is pruned and has had the wild branches grafted in is Israel, thus Paul concludes ‘in this way all Israel will be saved’. All Israel is the olive tree. Not all those of Israel are Israel, but Israel is the olive tree – smaller than all ethnic Israelites; but beyond a remnant of Jews; and bigger than ethnic Israel.
In the pdf I will expand considerably on the above. The key points to note are that Paul is seeking to show how God has been faithful throughout and continues to be faithful to the covenants in spite of many ‘of Israel’ rejecting the gospel and at the same time Gentiles coming to faith. His conclusion then is that God’s working is the process by which ‘all Israel’ (not every Israelite nor every Jew) but all Israel (all 12 tribes) will find salvation. More to come… I will put the link here when I finally complete.
Here are the headings (but I recommend a full read):
The first danger of a ‘Christian empire/nation’: Faith is shaped by power, not obedience.
The second danger: Faith becomes compulsory rather than voluntary.
The danger deepened: War itself was given sacred meaning.
The pattern repeats: Christianity becomes civilisational identity, not just personal faith.
The danger is exclusion: Outsiders are seen as threats to Christian identity, rather than neighbours to be loved.
The danger is clear and present: Christianity has become weaponised to ‘make America great’ rather than to offer freedom to all peoples.
A nation may be shaped by Christian values—justice, truth, dignity, compassion—but it cannot be Christian in the way individuals or communities can. The state wields power.
Following Jesus Christ, the church must be the state’s conscience. Not merely its chaplain.
Here is part 7… I am almost finished (tomorrow??? though mañana is rather vague word – a little more vague than ‘maybe’ or ‘possibly’! ).
A flip in this section back to the question in Acts 1:6… More to it than a ‘yes’, ‘no’ answer
Did the disciples completely miss the mark with their question concerning the ‘restoration of the kingdom’? And perhaps more importantly how should we understand Jesus’ reply. Is it an affirmation that there is work to be done first and then the kingdom will be restored to Israel, or is his answer a redirection?
Their question is understandable as it aligns with the hope that had been consistently expressed. In the vision of the dry bones coming back to life we read,
Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from every quarter and bring them to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Ezek37:19-23).
The restoration vision was of those who had been scattered (the northern tribes / Israel / Ephraim) being gathered from where they had been scattered, being re-united with the southern kingdom (Judah and the smaller tribe of Benjamin) under one king. In Isaiah we read that the land would be desolate until ‘a spirit from on high is poured out’ (Is. 32:15) and Peter says this had indeed taken place,
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you see and hear (Acts 2:33).
A new era of fulfilment was here. The big vision for restoration was therefore within sight; the Messiah had been raised from the dead so we can understand the disciples’ question,
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
In response Jesus clearly pushes the disciples away from a focus on time but engages them in a process. In doing so he uses a framework from Isaiah relating to the servant (Israel, Isaiah, Messiah, and now disciples) as ‘witness’.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Reflecting on the Isaianic passages we can see they carry the theme of the restoration of Israel. Here are some Isaianic passages that undergird Jesus’ response and we should in particular take note of the final one:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Is. 42:1).
You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen (Is. 43:10)
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Is. 44:26).
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (is. 49 5,6).
From Jerusalem and Judea (the Jewish world) to the Samaritans (are they ‘of Israel’ or are they not? – but they are a sign pointing toward the restoration of Israel)… and then ‘to the ends of the earth’. Leaning on Isaiah 49 the reaching out to the ends of the earth is the gathering of the ‘tribes of Jacob / Israel’. Hence we should understand Jesus response (in summary) as being:
Don’t focus on timing.
Focus on process.
And the process affects the timing, for in the process the restoration of the kingdom to Israel is taking place.
This latter point I understand to mean that as the mission extends to the ends of the earth the ingathering of the tribes of Jacob takes place simultaneously with the ‘conversion’ of Gentiles.
Here is the sixth part on ‘Jew, Israel and Gentile’. Eventually / soon all the parts will be published as a pdf, but if you wish to follow along as I write…
A core Scripture giving Israel an identity was that of Exodus 19:5,6,
Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.
Peter utilises that Scripture in 1 Peter 2:9,10 (and goes on to quote Hosea concerning the casting away of Israel and the drawing back),
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Unless Peter is addressing an exclusive group of Jews who follow Jesus, he is clearly giving to these Jesus-followers descriptive terms that were used for Israel. Israel’s regathering into a relationship with God is fulfilled through those (Gentiles) responding to Jesus.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 pulls together a number of Old Testament passages as he warns the gentile Christians:
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
He boldly quotes and alludes to a host of Old Testament texts here – among them are Leviticus 26, Ezekiel 37, Isaiah 52, Ezekiel 20, and 2 Samuel 7.Those Old Testament texts refer to Israel, with the latter allusion being to David! Paul cites texts that were Israel-centric and applies them to a (predominant / exclusive?) group of Gentiles converts. He follows the quotes and allusions with the provocative statement, ‘Since we have these promises’ (2 Cor.7:1). He does not write ‘since they have these promises’ but ‘since we’. He (and he is a Jew) aligns these converts with Israel!
He aligns converts, regardless of their ethnicity, with the ‘ancestors’ of Israel. Those ancestors are our ancestors:
I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea (1 Cor. 10:1).
Although the Corinthians are not ethnically part of Israel, Paul says they are incorporated into Israel. This seems to be something that is very consistent in Paul and when we come to the chapters in Romans (9-11) it will become very evident in his view that wild-olive shoots have been grafted into the one olive tree.
A longer passage is in Ephesians 2,
So then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us, abolishing the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God (Ephes. 2:11-22, emphases added).
The passage needs almost no comment but I note that ‘gentiles / the uncircumcision’ who previously had a status as those who were once ‘outside the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant’ had been brought near so that the divide between the two groups had ended; the Gentiles had now become citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. To be ‘brought near’ was the language to describe what had taken place when Gentiles converted to Judaism. (Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost records that the promise was for those immediately present, the subsequent generations and for ‘those afar off’. The OT expectation that post-restoration Gentiles would come in, the mystery that has been revealed to Paul is that this was not some future event, but a current one and it was happening without the Gentiles submitting to the Torah as had been the requirement for those converting to Judaism.)
What is described is not ‘replacement’ but incorporation and the foundation being based on that of ‘apostles and prophets’. (In this context it is feasible to understand this to be the proclaimers of God’s will from what we can term (looking back) the Old Testament and the New Testament.)
In the chapter that follows Paul unfolds that what was not understood prior to the resurrection had now been revealed. That mystery is that the Gentiles had become sharers in the promise of God which could only mean that they were incorporated into Israel. The mystery revealed alters any expected time sequence – this is not something taking place after the restoration of Israel (as certain OT Scriptures seem to indicate) but taking place simultaneously, and it was taking place without the Gentiles submitting to the Torah.
In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:5,6).
In these passages all those who are in Christ are now partakers as Abraham’s descendants, and so can be said to be incorporated into Israel (the Israel of God?). If we pull on Paul’s words in Galatians where he insists that the ‘seed’ of Abraham is singular and that singular seed is Messiah then it follows that all who are in Christ are therefore descendants of Abraham. (Neither in English nor in Greek is Paul on firm ground linguistically, but his point is theological.)
I am almost finished writing on ‘Jew, Israel and Gentile’ where I seek to work through those key chapters, Romans 9-11. Maybe by the end of the week I will finish and then some editing the week that follows. I have in four previous posts included the first parts of the writing (if you missed them just enter ‘Israel’ into the search box and they should show up. I will publish them all as a pdf when I finalise the writing. Here is the fifth part for those who wish to follow along.
The coming of Messiah in order to fulfil the promises to Abraham (Genesis 12 onwards) and to heal the sickness that creation endures (as outlined specifically in Genesis 1-11) is not simply a situation of the past progressing. We read the Scriptures historically and we read them with Jesus being their fulfillment; he fulfills what has been previously written. And yet there is something more that takes place. The resurrection of Jesus changes ‘time’. Not a change to the physical time, but one that changes expectations. An event (the resurrection) that was hoped would occur at the fullness of time had now occurred in time, we could say ahead of schedule. Death and resurrection might be separated by three days but they were part of one event, with the resurrection ushering in a new era, even what is termed ‘new creation’. Something of the future arrived with the resurrection of Jesus. The end is not something we wait for, but the end (in the Person of Jesus) is something we welcome. Hence when we turn to the New Testament there are surprises and twists with regard to fulfilment(s).
Paul sums it up with his words in 2 Corinthians 1:20,
For in him every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God.
All promises that God has made are guaranteed and fulfilled in Christ. Centring everything on Christ means the fulfilment at times might look different (the fulfillment is ‘beyond’ what was expected. Progressive revelation is from the lesser to the greater, never the other way round) to what was expected and we have to take care about simply taking an Old Testament promise and seeking to project forward. The eschatological fulfilment is more vital, and this seems to be why Paul says that Abraham was promised the ‘world’ (kosmos) not the ‘land’ (ge). (We have to do the same with the various laws. We neither abrogate them all except for the ones that are affirmed in the NT, nor do we hold them all except for the ones that have explicitly been cancelled! The tendency is to take one or the other approach. Continuity and discontinuity is involved and all Scripture has to pass through the Jesus filter.)
The church replaces Israel?
There is a theology termed supersessionism where the church is said to supersede / replace Israel. This can be expressed in a very simple way or nuanced better with Jesus faithfully fulfilling Israel’s calling and that those who are in Christ are where the purposes of God are centred. The contrary perspective is that which Dispensationalism expresses – that there are two different paths to salvation: one for Israel and one for those who have come to faith in Jesus. I once heard a Messianic Jew say, ‘In the New Testament the early believers were clear that Jews needed Jesus, they were just not sure about the Gentiles. Now two millennia later we have reversed that approach where we are sure that Gentiles need saving but we are not sure about the Jews!’ This is certainly true of those who hold to two paths for salvation.
We can look at the tussle that occurred in the early chapters of Acts. They are clear that there was ‘no other name’ by which people could be saved (Acts 4:12). Peter’s audience were Jews in Jerusalem and he said that they could not appeal to the patriarchs (‘other names’) as being their guarantee of salvation; then when Gentiles began to respond to Jesus the question was how were they to relate to the law. Gentiles who converted to Judaism took on board the Torah and its instructions – so what response was required of Gentiles who expressed faith in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel? Part of the offence in the new Messianic movement was that Gentiles were given full inclusion without submitting to the law.
(And we must not think of Judaism as being a religion of works; the law acted as a boundary marker and was viewed as God’s gracious gift to the people. Conversely we must not consider that the entry for the Gentiles was one of cheap grace (Torah-free is not lawlessness). Paul was committed to bring about ‘the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name’ (Rom. 1:5).)
The second of the two proposals that I wrote about in the previous paragraph (of two separate paths) is something I reject and the former view I wish to nuance somewhat.
The heading I have given as a question (‘The church replaces Israel’) in itself raises some questions. Always the danger of using the word ‘church’ is that almost inevitably we have injected into the word a predetermined meaning or concept. If, however, we transliterate the Greek underlying word (ekklesia) we can see that the question is indeed a strange one. Israel was termed the ekklesia! (The common word used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures when describing Israel as the community in response to God, hence Moses was said to be with the ekklesia in the wilderness (Acts 7:38).) It is bizarre to ask the question ‘does the ekklesia replace the ekklesia’!
We have to dig deeper. So let’s try and expand this some. As discussed earlier in this paper, fundamental to Israel’s identity was that of faith – faith triumphed over ethnicity. Israel was always smaller than the ethnic boundary and yet always bigger than that ethnic boundary as faith drew a bigger circumference.
If Gentiles became Torah-obedient they were included as part of Israel; this emphasis continued among certain Jewish followers of Jesus, hence the disagreements within the early Jesus-movement. The controversy that ensued was settled when it was decided that Gentile followers of Jesus were not required to be obedient to Torah.
Yes a little odd the spelling above but to make a point as I consider a few reflections on the gentleman named Paul (a ‘gentle’ man???).
There is always a section on ecclesiology in the books that seem to try and systematise everything; Thomas Finger said that of all areas of theology it is the least innovative, and suggests that money, reputation and sustaining what gives careers are the driving factors in this. Paul is a pragmatist – more to come on that in a later post – who is willing to compromise today with a view to compromising redemptively, with the plan that tomorrow will be better than today. On that basis I also try to be pragmatic, but it is helpful to push into what might lie at a more foundational level so that we continually push forward. I also suggest that as I hold to the conviction that in the context (particularly) of Europe we are at the end of a long cycle and can imagine a different tomorrow.
Ekklesia – not a word made up by Paul (and on the lips of Jesus twice in Matthew), but a common word understood within the Graeco-Roman world. (Acts 19:39 in response to the riot in Ephesus the town clerk said that if there was any ongoing complaint that it would have to be settled in the ekklesia – not the ‘church’ but the legal body, maybe we would term local council.) Each of the major Roman cities had an ekklesia, made up from the competent males who were responsible for the framework of the city and to plan for its future. Their goal was to make sure the city was shaped according to Roman principles and vision, in short they were to ensure that the city was as close to resembling Rome as possible.
Paul uses that term (ekklesia) to describe those who had found faith in Jesus and were aligned to heaven’s agenda. He could write, for example, to the ekklesia in Corinth, only the ekklesia he was writing to was the ekklesiain Christ. (This post is too short to go into the use of the term ekklesia in the OT Scriptures – but in short it was applied to the people of Israel when they were actively responding to the voice of God: Stephen uses it that way in Acts 7 also concerning the ekklesia in the wilderness.)
We have become accustomed to adding the word ‘local’ to ekklesia and in doing so have weakened what is in the mind of Paul. He was convinced that every locality needed a group of competent people (females definitely included at all levels) who would take responsibility for the locality and seek for that place to be as close to heaven’s reality as possible. A BIG task! And a big task for a small group of people – maybe less than 100 in cities of 200,000+ people. A big task and big faith.
Of course there are other aspects to ekklesia – particularly that of inner care and nurturing one another, but the overall purpose was a group who prayed and acted so there might be some measure of ‘on earth as in heaven’. (Maybe we fall short as we often represent ‘in ekklesia as in the world’???)
Back to Finger who said all that is written is so predictable and lacks innovation. If we moved away from ‘pure church’ and toward ‘here to change the context / locality’ we might be astounded what things might look like. I put the word ‘context’ in there as we are no longer defined simply by localities.
The ekklesia that Paul helped established did have a significant inward activity – with a focus of when they came together they ‘ate’. Inevitable as the Master they followed was an ‘eater’ and part of his offence was to eat with the wrong people. Also eating was a strong prophetic act in both the Jewish and Graeco-Roman cultures. In those cultures – particularly the ones more aligned to the Imperial rule – who came to meals was a major re-enforcement of hierarchy. Where they were seated was all part of that, and the invitations were sent to those who would reciprocate. So subversive the teachings and practices of Jesus… and Paul.
Do not invite those who can invite you back.
Do not give the seat of honour to the wealthy.
Honour the least honourable.
Those commands can be multiplied for the ekklesia of Jesus was ‘upside-down’. That meal – and Jesus had meals at multiple levels – was to a) remember Jesus, b) proclaim his death and c) until he comes.
It has been reduced to something less than a meal and to focus on his death. Remember him – outrageous, disturbing him! Proclaim his death – a new era is here; the powers are defeated and they (earthly and heavenly) do not have the final word; they are but temporary; a new era is here and one day will be consummated. Maybe that is more in line with the ekklesia in Jesus Christ?
Let the meals – at whatever level – be outrageous!
Vincent Brannick (A Roman Catholic! – exclamation mark in the light of what he says from that background) wrote in response to the council of Laodicea (365AD)
The prohibition of Laodicea completes a critical cycle. The Lord’s Supper had changed from evening meal to stylized (sic) ritual. The assembly had moved from dining room to sacred hall. Leadership had shifted from family members to special clergy. Now the orginal form of church was declared illegal.
The original form of ekklesia declared illegal. I might substitute the word ‘purpose’?
The importance of the cross cannot be overemphasised for Paul.
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24). I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world (Gal. 6:14).
The life of Jesus was vital for Paul for his life was in contrast to ours (Adam’s); his being one of obedience, of humility and that obedience being even to death, death being death on the cross (Rom. 5:19; Phil 2: 7,8). A call to imitate Paul was a call to imitate Paul as he imitated Christ. ‘Justification by faith’ was not justification by faith alone – we should not simply subsume James under Paul to erase the supposed divide between them. James said we are not justified by faith alone! And I am sure Paul would have agreed. Neither Paul nor James are suggesting ‘salvation by works’ any more than their roots (‘Judaism’) did. Judaism talked of the ‘works of the law’ – behaviour as outlined in the law in response to God’s grace and acceptance; if Israel was ‘saved’ it was by grace; Paul might well have been happy with the term ‘works of faith’ (‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love’ – Gal. 5:6); certainly works (but not to earn salvation) by the Spirit, his helpful term being ‘fruit’. The contrast for Paul between the former way of life and the new way was that of ‘law v. Spirit’. Led by the law as a guardian (his former expression of faith) gave way to being led by the Spirit (Gal. 4:1-6; Rom. 8:14).
The brutal death on the cross. The cross was a political statement to mark those who rebelled against Rome’s rule; the death of Jesus on the Roman cross was fuelled by religious jealousy. He was charged with being a blasphemer and the sentence was carried out by the Imperial powers of the day – that in itself would be tragic and make Jesus a martyr and a hero, but Paul was convinced that something much more was going on. Jesus was a martyr but more; martyrs inspire but Jesus saves. Probably no ‘theory’ of the atonement will suffice though (no surprise) the populist theory of ‘penal substitution’ in order to display God’s righteousness and satisfy his wrath simply does not resonate for there is no divide in the Trinity. The angry God (Father) and loving Jesus is not Pauline, for God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. It is the ‘powers’ feature highly in Paul. Demonic as in spiritual beings? Earthly powers / systems? Demonic as in ‘beings’ that come into ‘existence’ as a result of corporate power entities? Take your pick! He disarmed all powers:
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Any theory that does not take in this aspect I think falls short of being Pauline. The transfer from one realm to another necessitates the defeat of powers hostile to humanity; the captivity has to be broken.
Paul’s gospel is not just the cross, but the cross and the resurrection. The crucified one is the resurrected one, and he insists if Jesus had not been raised then we are still in our sins. The resurrection is the affirmation that a former age has been ended, or perhaps it might be better put that a new age / era has begun as the two ages now run in parallel.
Freedom, deliverance, and a very real experience is what takes place. Paul’s gospel goes beyond a ‘faith’ response to a reception of the Spirit and that is appealed to in experiential terms.
The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard? (Gal. 3:2-5).
‘Did you experience so much’ could be understood as ‘suffer’ as being something external and unpleasant but given that he goes on with present tense verbs as to the ‘supply of the Spirit’ and working miracles among he makes an experiential appeal. Faith resulted in the receiving of a tangible animating presence, the reception of a life-source that resulted in God-activity.
The cross does much more than show us a way (‘moral influence’ theory of Abelard and in part René Girard’s presentation of the scapegoating narrative that he uses). The cross stands at the end of a doomed pathway; the resurrection stands with the stone rolled away and an invitation to a new path. The possibilities are endless and this is why I like to talk about transformation,
[A]nd through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:20).
I am agnostic (and I think that is the best faith position!) on what transformation will look like because once touched by the Spirit it is the imagination that is ignited to ‘see a new creation’. Paul might have thought there would be an imminent return (in his lifetime) of the Lord (‘we who are alive at his coming’) but he continually worked for the future. That has to be our framework. Agnosticism regarding the future is the framework, but focusing in the present so as to invite the future to manifest.
Once we move away from the narrow framework of ‘saved from hell’ (ticket to heaven) to a Pauline vision for the world (his world and now ours) we do not negate personal salvation but understand it to be a salvation from captivity to the realm of sin and death to participating in the liberation movement of reconciliation. To quote another movement that understands that salvation is to be measured by the extent to which we are liberated and become liberators. (‘[Jesus] who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age’.)
Paul is silent as to what happens between the two events of crucifixion and resurrection. I am also somewhat curious on that time. Do we choose the rather ‘mythical'(??) descent into hades (harrowing of hell: 1 Peter 4) or do we go for the cleansing of the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews…and what would that indicate)? Or is there truth in both without either needing to be pressed literally?
The cross ends a domination that had erased all true hope (not erased the possibility of ‘individual’ salvation); the resurrection opened entry to the realm of Spirit inspired imagination. Truly, the era of ‘I have a dream’.
An impressive site – above the clouds Mt. Etna stands. Each time we came to the mountain or spoke to it we had a response – the most significant was when a vent that rarely ‘vents’ called ‘New Mouth’ expressed itself. We would have loved for there to have been a proper eruption while we were there as a ‘sign’ but anticipate that might occur fairly soon as Italy takes her position. Let’s see!
A little shout from ‘Bocca Nuova’ (had not ‘spoken’ in a long time but did when we first visited the volcano) and was accompanied by a reasonable sized earthquake – 4.5) screenshot below:
The reflections that follow will be selective (4 months in one post?) and likely not to be short. Some of this might have been read in a post or a WhatsApp but I hope to keep your interest and that some of it will be helpful, but I acknowledge it is virtually impossible to give a report that gives a total representation of our little adventure.
Plans
We thought that we would be based in 1 (maybe 2) situation(s) and then travel from there. We also anticipated that we would be able to camp as the beloved search engine said ‘camp site open’ but open they were not. This meant practically in the 126 days away from home we were in more than 30 different rentals; some good…others… including one we had to leave after one night due to consistent sewer smells… ah well not all plans work out!!!
Second aspect that we had not calculated was that the island is BIG – for UK people 25% bigger than the size of Wales, so the idea of being based in one place was not practical. We crossed on the ferry and then we were looking at each other – ‘do we go West or do we go South?’ As we got off the ferry – ‘let’s go West.’ West we went to Marsala. Although I had read 2 books on Sicily before arriving we had not clocked that this was where the unification of Italy began in 1860 with the arrival of Garibaldi. This was to be key.
On the way to Sicily we had input that invited us to consider a border en route. As we weighed that input we considered it was an ancient border – and settled on one south of the papal states (between Rome and Napoli) called the border of ‘the Two Sicilies’. We spent two days there before continuing south. This was important and Marsala connected with this as Garibaldi came to conquer the ‘Two Sicilies’ from there.
Input and guidance
We are very grateful for every encouragement, ideas, suggestions and prophetic insight that people gave us – invaluable.
When in Marsala – the place where Garibaldi entered – I had a dream where an angel came bearing a huge and very heavy book. Struggling to the point of exhaustion to deliver it I thought that if I were that angel I would have given up. As I thought that the angel assured me that having come thus far the task would be fulfilled and with that managed to heave it up on a lectern so that it could be read. The book had been carried, supported at three corners, pressed in to the angel’s stomach and then with two arms extended to the limits. Later we understood that to symbolise the three extreme points of the island that have been recognised from ancient times. The book symbolised the story of Sicily – thus far – with the final pages blank calling for us to come and write about the future. The persistence of the angel proved to be a major energising aspect in keeping us focused and moving forward as we became more tired toward the end.
Two days after that dream Garibaldi showed up in a dream to simply say ‘what I have done cannot be undone’. True at one level but at another level the past cannot simply dictate the future.
The map indicates the three recognised points of the island with the meeting point being the city of Enna in the centre of the island.
The book the angel brought was reflective of Sicily but we also carried with us that Sicily, being physically in the middle of ‘middle earth’, also represented in some way the wider world of Europe and perhaps beyond. As one author described Sicily:
The stepping stone between Europe and Africa, the gateway between the East and the West, the link between the Latin world and the Greek, at once a stronghold, clearing-house an observation point. It has been fought over and occupied in turn by all the great powers that have striven over the centuries to extend their dominion across the Middle Sea… Sicily is probably less unhappy than she has been for many centuries, but though no longer lost she still seems lonely, seeking always an identity which she can never entirely find.
Europe – the centre of the world!!
No not really!! Timelines are important and different parts of the world are on different timelines. (Personal convictions shaped by experiences and dreams have developed what follows.)
The gospel came within the Hebraic culture and world (with a big affirmation of humanity, the planet, creation and redemption… redemption of the world / all things); it then spread throughout the ‘oikoumene’ of the Graeco-Roman world (oikoumene being the oft-used term for that which was within an Imperial boundary – this is what Jesus was offered: in short bow and worship and he could be the next Caesar – no better position from which to spread the good news!!! Hence the huge dangers in Christendom – and of course for us a very denial of Paul’s gospel).
The importance of Europe is not that it is the centre of the world but that we have a wonderful opportunity to see truly the end of Christendom and find a way to recover the Pauline gospel, a gospel set in a multi-faith context of conflicting ideologies concerning the transformation of the world. A little task?
Other portals… Monotheistic faiths
From Europe it is this non-Christendom experience that has to travel and it was not too long before we realised that the next portal has to be Istanbul with a focus on the Hagia Sophia mosque. Originally a Christian / Christendom house, once Islam was able to inhabit that house it was able to spread more rapidly; hence Istanbul calls (a visit in May?).
There are three monotheistic faiths that claim Abraham as their ancestor: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Christianity in its Christendom form linked to those others only strengthens their expression (we were not insensitive to the current war while in Sicily, nor unaware of the current contest to see where European nations will land). Into those three religious expressions Jesus-aligned followers become essential in breaking open that three-fold cord (appreciate that is shorthand and expresses our ‘world-view’). The middle east is a powder keg as its destiny is to be a place of reconciliation, reconciliation not based on the domination of one over another but of togetherness amidst difference.
Prior to coming to Sicily we saw what was to take place in that island was to sow fresh seed that needs to enter the portal of Istanbul and then to travel east. That view is only strengthened since being there.
Power out
In previous communications we have written about the ancient map of Europe with Spain as the head and the rolling up of that map with the consequent major power outage in Spain & Portugal. Signs are important (I pause to consider Etna one more time!) but we really want to see not simply signs but substance. So to the heart of our prayers in the land.
Colonisation
Words do have (in part) intrinsic meaning (do cringe when the preacher says the Hebrew / Greek means… without showing how it is used) but the key is in the usage. Colonisation manifests in the classic sense of a power taking a piece of land that was previously under another ‘flag’, but the core of it is that of taking a gift / sphere / territory that was not yours to take (we might be able tor eplace the word colonisation with one of the three ‘sin’ words of Scripture: trespassing). Colonisation can be subtle and can even use truth to take, colonise and disempower. A classic example in our current world is that of the self-evident truth that ‘all lives matter’. No one can deny that… but by replacing ‘black lives matter’ with the phrase ‘all lives matter’ is to disempower the original phrase and the necessary rebalancing that is being called for. ‘All lives matter’ is true as a phrase but has colonised the original phrase to simply maintain the status quo of oppression.
Sicily has a literal history of colonisation, from the earliest time – 1 original tribe, then from some 3000+ years ago a second that takes land to a third that pushed the original indigenous people into the centre of the island; then we can travel through the successive empires (at least 10) right thorough to the colonisation of Sicily to create the modern Italy (Garibaldi’s invasion of 1860)… as so often happens the resources (gifts) of the land were taken and Sicily moved from being highly prosperous to experiencing widespread poverty in a very short period time (25% of the population had to leave in a 10 year period due to poverty).
Yes we prayed into that… but we discovered other stories. Not unique to Sicily but that of the abuse and subjugation of the feminine. (Gayle would be much more eloquent in expressing this but she is getting ready for Malaysia so you got me…) Prior to touching on the specifics – back to Paul’s gospel. (I use this phrase for two reasons – the resource we have in those letters, but also that he is outworking the implications of the life, death, resurrection of Jesus in the context of Imperial power – our setting.) He is clear that the only thing that counts is ‘new creation’ to such an extent that there is no ‘Jew/ Greek, slave/free’. He saw a world (as did John in Rev. 21) that was transformed by the resurrection. It was a world of creation that had come to an eschaton but was more than a restoration of the supposed original – in the same way Jesus was the ‘second Adam’ but also he was the ‘eschatological Adam’. He became a life-giving Spirit – he became an expression of humanity beyond Adam (male and female) – who was a living being. This is the task of the body of Christ – prayer and action and context coming together to move this world toward the coming world where all divides (dualisms) end… and at the heart of it is Paul says and ‘no male and female’. This is central and core. The realignment of the current dualism (and spectrum) – has to be done because ultimately the divide of ‘heaven and earth’ is to end when there is a glorious coming together.
Saints. Not my world! We encountered some female saints – notably Lucia and Agatha. All with the same story. A young woman being preyed on by a male figure. Abused, raped and even in one situation placed in a brothel to punish her. Protected by a superior ‘female power’ but with a horrendous loss of life and even when protected experiencing a total loss of identity; then later in history held up as a saint and protector and then honoured as such today in the various cities.
Anyway to cut it all short – the stories gave us leverage to pray. (And vitally we were joined in this phase by three wonderful women.)
(Annie Macintosh (Scotland) and Elizabeth Coveney (Wales) – 2 of the 3… Jenny Rettig also was with us a few days – sorry somehow have no photo of you, but your input was invaluable.)
The need to pray to remove the toxic masculine… and the toxic feminine was vital, and most importantly the sowing of personal stories into the land was a big part of it. Important for Sicily, and as Sicily is focused for Europe not a small side-act…and as the coming together of heaven and earth awaits the ‘no male and female’ aspect of new humanity this whole phase was enormous.
‘Not male and female’: central to that of undoing colonisation.
Wider Europe
We have been and continue to carry a focus on Spain; we do not have a naive belief that politics are the answer – the vision of Revelation is that Jesus (as Lamb) overcame the powers so as to open the seals to unlock the book of human destiny… but we are deeply supportive of Pedro Sanchez and the leadership he is giving within wider Europe. (Long story would unfold how Paul’s vision was wonderfully infecting those who were not believers with a vision of ‘new creation’. A great part of the unfolding future is Jesus-aligned people in partnership with those who can ‘see’ humanity.)
Our prayer in Sicily / Italy was that there would be a following of Spain’s lead… Italy to follow… then others within Europe. We also prayed into the northern lands – the two arms of the ‘queen’ map of Europe were Italy and Denmark. We have noted the response of Nordic lands in these recent days.
Little interlude… and connecting to the previous newsletter to charismatics
I think Paul’s gospel and also tracking the past 20+ years suggest that we should expect and look increasingly to those who do not have faith to be those who speak (prophesy?) concerning the future.This ties with how I understand where Paul positions the ekklesia – to take responsibility for the future, not responsible to bring it in, but to hold the shape so that it can manifest. Exciting days – so we are looking and expecting that the voices for the future will be in the mouths of the artists and politicians.
We noted that Rosalia, a Spanish singer, named after one of the female saints of Sicily (Rosalia – patron saint of Palermo) won a major award at the BritAwards for her album. In it she sings in numerous European languages, including Italian and Sicilian…the comments in the chat said ‘this is Europe, baby’. Indeed the call is for Europe – different languages, but the same song.
I just got to now include the tattoo I had put on my shoulder in Marsala, the place where Garibaldi landed is the place I wanted to mark as new creation – with the sun rising and ‘I saw a new creation’. Surely that concept is more than enough to get one out of bed in the morning.
As well as the three women joining with us, Steve and Kathy Lowton joined us December 26th into January for some key days – we initially stayed in a city where there were numerous concrete benches cast as open books (a nice reminder) – and Steve came back with Noë Limiñana (from Calpe) for the final phase into the north east in March. All who came gave us a major boost.
Here is a photo of the final gang sitting on a ‘big bench’ looking at Etna:
Got to become as children! And a dream Gayle had some 2 years back we continue to carry – it ends with a plea to the economic / banking world – to get rid of the suit, the shoes and to play with the children in the grass… and if this can be done then ‘everything else will follow’. We continue to pull for a new economy – not a tweaking of what is here (the foundations of which taps into the spirit of Moloch and increased exponentially with debt as a foundation… historically to fund war). I saw a new creation!!!???? Who knows what we will see, but if we ‘see’ something then perhaps we can redemptively move in a direction.
The final photo is of us overlooking the strait to mainland Italy. In that place a major pylon is on the Sicilian side and one on the mainland side, the pylons connecting power lines connecting the island and the mainland… so, yes, power outage was our prayer. Our final act as we ate together was again to roll up the map.
What did it all achieve? The wonderful aspect of our faith is simply that – we walk by faith and one day will find out! I close with – we… and you… will never know what effect we truly make. But by faith we do whatever it is we are convinced to do – small or big. One sows, one waters, BUT GOD…
Some of you might have already received this by email. If so ignore. For some of you this might be of no interest… ignore! For others maybe adds to your own thoughts?
I have a few posts to complete and also to give a response to our time in Sicily. I will (maybe spelt ‘hope’?) to complete what I started on Jew, Israel, Gentile (with a slant on eschatology) and my thoughts on the Pauline gospel, but given the heat that is on some recent exposures on prophecy within charismatic circles I thought I should in this interlude comment on that first.
Well this is not really to charismatics, but a few responses to some of what is unfolding.
While away in Sicily I have sought to follow the scandals / exposures in the past weeks that Mike Winger has documented. I have not watched all the hours (and hours and hours) of videos but I have seen enough and experienced enough disappointment. Of course I have my take on it as many of you do, and wanted to give my response here – particularly to those of you who want to align yourself with the ‘charismatic’.
For those not in the know, in short, the scandals are focused on a number of individuals who have data-mined social media so that they can then present details (names, addresses, specific contexts) as words of knowledge… a kind of ‘Is there a Martin Scott present who lives in Oliva, does Isla de Sicilia mean anything to you?’ blah, blah. Impressive and spectacular. (Interestingly the prophetic that follows is often at a much lower ‘level’ of revelation or simply continues with an affirmation of what was presented on Facebook etc.!)
A little personal history
There are three personal experiences that will also shape where I am coming from / where I am headed.
1) Not knowing anything about what was to come I wrote to someone (first in 2021) whose feet have been held to the fire in these past days that a major test was coming and that he would need the spirit of wisdom when it hit. I had a further 3 pieces of communication with him over the following years.
Then around 2 years ago I had two dreams that seem very relevant:
2) The first dream I was present in a discussion among European believers who were discussing as to what protocols should be foundational for a healthy prophetic to rise in the coming context and season. Into that dream a USA prophetic person (who passed away some years back but was one of the best known names from his era) materialised as a 40 year old. He was intently focused on discovering what we would come up with and his face showed clearly that he knew now that what they had put in place in their era was now proving to be sadly defective.
3) The second dream was of one of the best known and ‘stable’ prophets of today holding the platform in a large auditorium. He acknowledged my presence and said ‘we need to hear from Martin later’… however he filled the whole time and when he ran out of any meaningful content he jumped off the stage and simply began to dance around and shadow box! I said to Gayle ‘there is nothing for us here, let’s leave’. As we left by a side door I realised there was another back room and so I said ‘let’s go in here and see what is taking place.’ We did this and inside was someone dedicated to raising the next generation of prophetic voices. He had clearly been (apologies and I do not want to be crude) stimulating himself and now (fully clothed) he was demonstrating how significant his male package was – this being a point of pride. I said to Gayle – we are out of here and so we left that whole scene: the best of the current was shadow boxing and the next generation was being developed in the setting of male pride and performance.
After those dreams speak into the public space with the exposures of the abuse of the prophetic, and sadly with a comment – ‘we all do this’. I am grateful that that is not totally true (‘all’) but the data-mining and other abuses seems more widespread than just with a few.
The discrediting of the prophetic is clear as a result.
Some 6 months back I said to Gayle the prophetic is about to be shaken but once that is through the same will happen to the current healing move. That is just ahead of us.
So what now charismatics? (And I write as one.)
1) The spectacular – who to impress?
I had a call with David Shadbolt a few weeks back who brought up Philip’s visit to Samaria and in that village was Simon who with his ‘magic’ had deeply impressed / mesmerised the people.
The platform (problematic in itself) has facilitated the impressive. Truth is I do not need someone to give me my name nor my address but do need help to better align my character to fulfil a purpose for others while I am on this planet.
The spectacular lifts the so-called ‘messenger’ up. That is always the vision of all imperially-driven constructs and the total opposite of any Pauline vision for gifts and calling. We have to see the current exposure as a wake up call to being sadly unaligned in direction.
There are remarkable words of knowledge (‘you have had 5 husbands and the one you are with you are not married to’). A friend of mine who passed away in 2001 I often witnessed him bring revelation that even that person’s closest friend did not know – his gift and character impacted me deeply. He once turned up late… reason? ‘Sorry mate, I had to pull over, I was having such an acute panic attack’. He brought freedom to many and yet…. Maybe he should have been through the personal trauma by that stage… maybe… but his weakness was his strength. He was human with flaws. Humanity with flaws is closer to God’s image than the spectacular on a platform.
2) Healing – a new context
I have read through many of the stories of the ‘healing revival’ of 1948-58 where many of those involved came from backgrounds of poverty (and through the difficulties of the 1930s). Seeking God for power (and significance?) they sought to manifest healing power. Two flaws: power does not heal a heart… love does. I remember meeting one (from a slightly later era) healing evangelist who held crusades with 100s of thousands globally. He came from an orphaned background, but was by the time I met him incredibly well known and it so happened that for around 10 minutes only he and I were in the same room. It was like talking to boy who was 12 years old. Only a conviction of love brings healing, being valued because of reputation does not heal.
Power – we will demonstrate God’s power, thus impressing people about God… (and maybe about us?). Second problem – God is not impressive!!! Insecurity needs to impress… God is not insecure!
We do not have a responsibility to show the world the power of God. There is a shift from power to PRESENCE. Jesus first chose 12 to be WITH him and then he commissioned them. He was known as ‘Emmanuel’, God WITH us. To be with Jesus is not simply to go away on a retreat, it is to be where he is.
There are three helpful prepositions – TO, FOR, and WITH. We can do something TO people – colonialism; we can do something FOR people – better and sometimes a necessary step… but WITH is the God-way.
There is a healing wave to come, but it first requires that we move to be WITH those who are marginalised. It is not about moving into the top 3% and then having power to change what is around… but being with. To be with is to listen. God’s bias is to the margins. I, male, have to LISTEN to those of a different gender / those who express gender / sexual orientation differently to me if I am to disrobe my ungodly status.
There is a total ‘disrobing’ of status. Jesus ‘got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself’. This is what lies ahead. Only then will we have presence. Presence is not a style of worship, but a discovery that there is nothing more significant than being simply a ‘person in Christ’ as Paul described himself.
In summary
The heat is rightly on now. Change is being called for. A loss of power is required; power that comes through social status or pulled on through insecurity. Significance is to be found in being insignificant; anointed in being disrobed.
And a final note as a convinced charismatic. I am aware of thousands who in the past decades have received words of prophecy concerning their lives. They received them (as I did) in the context of ‘four walls’ and the platform. Those words are not dead, but the fulfilment is in a different context. The platform as we have had it is problematic; the four walls are deeply restrictive… The fulfilments are waiting to be connected with… the path to the place of fulfilment is the preposition ‘with’.
