Dear Brother _______,
Thanks for responding to my email/blog post. You’re about the only person I know personally who responds. It’s always a good thing to have iron sharpening our iron. Here’s what Thayer says about the elect:
ἐκλεκτός
eklektos
Thayer Definition:
1) picked out, chosen
1a) chosen by God
1a1) to obtain salvation through Christ
1a1a) Christians are called “chosen or elect” of God
1a2) the Messiah is called “elect”, as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable
1a3) choice, select, i.e. the best of its kind or class, excellence preeminent: applied to certain individual Christians
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1586
Citing in TDNT: 4:181, 505
I find it interesting that Thayer does not even mention the ancient Hebrews as Yahweh’s elect. Take a look at the book of 2 John; it is ADDRESSED to the elect and sure sounds like it is talking to the Church. I don’t know where you got your information on the elect, but I’m pretty sure the elect refers to believers, those of the faith, whether from the Old or New Covenant. Look at 2 John 1:4-6, “I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.” The Old Covenant is the foundation to the Christian faith, the Christian faith of the modern western Greek mindset church is not the foundation. Yeshua followed and taught His disciples to follow Torah. The Apostles followed and taught their disciples to follow Torah. We should follow and teach our disciples to follow Torah. Matthew 24, Mark 13,and Luke 21 are all addressed to the disciples, born again believers in Yeshua. The early church started out as a sect of the Jews, but a few years after Yeshua ascended, Gentiles began getting saved also. Yeshua and the Apostles never taught anyone to disobey Torah, as you can see in 2 John. I’m not as confused as you might think.
Let me give you a personal example. Yesterday, I took the day off from work, I gave up one day’s pay, for the purpose of celebrating Yom Kippur, a commanded feast of Yahweh. I did NOT do that to get saved, I did this BECAUSE I AM SAVED, born again, and chose to please my Heavenly Father by obeying one of His non-burdensome commandments, per 2 John, if you will. On Yom Kippur we are to afflict ourselves, have a holy convocation, and reflect on all the wonders of the grace of Yahweh, all the greatness of salvation and forgiveness in Yeshua, and to pray for a spirit of repentance to fall on all nations and people. My main affliction was the loss of a day’s pay. Worship and prayer with the saints is not really an affliction, it’s a great joy. Every soul on earth needs redemption and that’s the focus of Yom Kippur. Do you see the power of having our High Priest, Yeshua HaMashiach, in the Heavenly Sanctuary praying for the redemption of all mankind at the same time that His saints on earth are praying for the exact same thing, in perfect agreement, in perfect timing and synchronization with the Holy Spirit?!? It’s an awesome time and feast in Yahweh!!
Personally, I don’t care one wit when we get raptured, but I do find it interesting that those who promote a pre-trib rapture never quote a Scripture reference to back up their theory.
Love you brother. Are you all having home fellowships? You are a good teacher. . . The days are getting darker, until the Daystar appears, so we all need to stay together in the Spirit. The Islamic Beast is rising rapidly to come against us, so continue to stay strong my brother!
In Him,
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