I had begun writing this on September 25th, but could only get as far as setting up the javascript dates for the page ~ see below as to why I felt the need to add these dates. I'm continuing today (29th) as inspired by the Holy Spirit. I feel it is very important that some questions be answered, they are: Why should we pray for Jerusalem? Why should we support Israel? Who are the Jews? Who are Gentiles and how do they relate to Israel or the Jews?

        Romans 11 (NASB below), written by an Israeli (Paul), sums up the proper perspective of Gentiles (Non-Hebrews, Non-Israelis) to the Nation of Israel ... ALL TWELVE TRIBES being all 12 sons of Jacob (aka: Israel). This page isn't so much about who the Jews/Israelis are so much as about how we the Christian Gentiles are grafted into their tree, as related to us in the scriptures below (bold/underline are mine for emphasis):

Rom 11:1   I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.  Rom 11:2   God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in {the passage about} Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?  Rom 11:3   "Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE."  Rom 11:4   But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL."  Rom 11:5   In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to {God's} gracious choice.  Rom 11:6   But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.  Rom 11:7   What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;  Rom 11:8   just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."  Rom 11:9   And David says, "LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.  Rom 11:10   "LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER."  Rom 11:11   I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation {has come} to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.  Rom 11:12   Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!  Rom 11:13   But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,  Rom 11:14   if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.  Rom 11:15   For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will {their} acceptance be but life from the dead?  Rom 11:16   If the first piece {of dough} is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.  Rom 11:17   But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  Rom 11:18   do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, {remember that} it is not you who supports the root, but the root {supports} you.  Rom 11:19   You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."  Rom 11:20   Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;  Rom 11:21   for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.  Rom 11:22   Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.  Rom 11:23   And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  Rom 11:24   For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural {branches} be grafted into their own olive tree?  Rom 11:25   For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;  Rom 11:26   and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."  Rom 11:27   "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."  Rom 11:28   From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of {God's} choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;  Rom 11:29   for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.  Rom 11:30   For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,  Rom 11:31   so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.  Rom 11:32   For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.  Rom 11:33   Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  Rom 11:34   For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?  Rom 11:35   Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?  Rom 11:36   For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him {be} the glory forever. Amen.

        You may notice that Paul referred to himself as an Israelite, not as a Jew, because he was of the tribe of  Benjamin, not of the tribe of Judah (Jew-dah), which is where the word Jew comes from. As you probably know there were 12 tribes (or sons) of Jacob (who was later renamed Israel by God, see Genesis 32:28) ... thus we have the 12 tribes (sons and their descendants) of Israel. Note that the Jews (Judah) are only one of the 12 tribes, Benjamin is another, and so on ... all 12 tribes make up the Nation of Israel! You can read about the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel) in Genesis 29:31 through Genesis 35:18. Over time, Israel collectively became referred to as Jews. The first time the word Jew shows up in the Bible is in Esther 2:5; the plural word, Jews, is first seen in 2 Kings 16:6; and the word Jewish is only referred to once in Titus 1:14 (all references KJV). Technically though, the correct term for the 12 tribes as a nation is Israel, not Jew.

        One's lineage correctly comes from one's mother, it's a pretty sure thing that you come from your mother, not so proveable of your father (even DNA testing isn't 100% accurate). Jesus lineage shows up in the Bible twice: once in Matthew 1:1-17 (believed to be through His adopted father Joseph's line); the other (believed to be His mother Mary's lineage) as seen in Luke 23-38. The two lineages are very similar but do differ in a couple of places. These both trace back to Judah, Jesus is a Jew in that sense of the word but moreso He too is an Israeli. We shouldn't loose focus on that!

        All 12 of the apostles, whom Jesus personally chose to carry on His ministry, were also Israelis! The first church was in Jerusalem. The first Christians were Israeli! The first to baptise non-Israeli/Jews were Israelis themselves (Acts 10 & 11). Our church history comes from the land of Jerusalem ... don't forget that. No matter how stubborn the Nation of Israel is, how temporarily blinded they may be now, as stated above, they are STILL God's chosen people and He will bring them to Himself in the due fullness of time.

Definition of the word Gentile (according to BlueLetterBible.org) is:

Strong's #01471 (Hebrew ~ OT) gowy {go'-ee} rarely (shortened) goy {go'-ee} 1) nation, people   a) nation, people     1) usually of non-Hebrew people     2) of descendants of Abraham     3) of Israel   b) of swarm of locusts, other animals (fig.)   c) Goyim? = "nations"

Strong's #1484 (Greek ~ NT) ethnos {eth'-nos} 1) a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together   a) a company, troop, swarm 2) a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus   a) the human family 3) a tribe, nation, people group 4) in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles 5) Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians

        We Gentiles have been gracefully given time by God to be grafted into the tree from which the origins of that tree are told above. The Nation of Israel is the tree, Jesus Christ is the root of that tree, and we Gentiles are grafted-in branches of the tree. Above we Gentiles are referred to as branches of a *wild olive tree* whereas the Nation of Israel is the *natural olive tree*. Jesus Christ is the *root of the tree*, that which sustains the tree and it's branches ~ without Him as our root, the whole tree (all of us, Israeli and Gentiles) would die.

        What is my point? My point is that we, Gentile Christians, may be called upon to support our tree (Israel) at some point in our lives, even to the threat of (or actual) physical death. We must be with our Lord, the root, and do our part! Pray for the PEACE of Jerusalem ... support Israel any way you can friends ... take heed of what is said in Romans 11! And also be aware of this prophetic warning in which God says to Abraham, in Genesis 12:3 (KJV) "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." <<< All families of the earth ... that would be us!

        I included two javascripts above that generate today's dates DAILY for both the Gregorian/Julian/Modern as well as the Hebrew/Jewish. Notice the Hebrew date's year is 5767 (at the time of this writing). Apparently the Hebrew calendar is dated back to the creation of Adam in Genesis 1:26 (not from the beginning of creation itself). It's interesting to consider that we are now in a supposed *6,000 years of man* era where satan is the ruler of this earth, then comes an era of a thousand years of rest where Jesus rules the earth ... these eras equate to God's six days of creation and one day of rest (sabbath). Even scripture says: 2Pe 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

        I don't believe the Hebrew/Jewish calendar is right as far as years go, it's probably *off* by hundreds of years. I would blame the years being incorrect to the numerous documented times they (Hebrews/Israel) were in captivity. But for the sake of knowledge, do the math 6000 - 5767 = 233 ... and again, I think their calendar year is incorrect but it's a base to start from ... remaining time is SHORT and I highly doubt it's 233 years. Rather, I think the Day of the Lord, the end times of this 6,000 year era, is much sooner ... my feeling is within tens of years, not hundreds ... but, it could be today! God confounded our time and calculations for a reason, He doesn't want us to know *exactly when* the end will come ...

        Only God knows this, as stated by Jesus here (both KJV): Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." and Mark 13:32 "But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."

        I do believe that the end of our 6,000 years with satan ruling this earth is soon coming to an abrupt end ... keep watch and pray ... now is the time to be awake and ready! The Lord IS COMING ... very soon! Be ready to defend & support Jerusalem and Israel friends! May God grant you ears to hear and eyes to see!

  We Support Israel!  

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