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We have updated this teaching of who are the Gentiles in the scripture. We have changed our position after further edification and research. See the comment section for more clarification!
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Here is the previous teaching:
It is commonly thought that if you are not a Jew, you are a Gentile. For years people looked in the New Testament and all they saw written was “Jews and Gentiles.”
There is more foundation if we take the time to read the Old Testaments where we get more foundation.
First the Jews: the Jews are a short-name of the children of Israel who fell under the lineage of Judah (one of the 12 sons of Jacob). It is possible to be a son of Israel and not be a “Jew.” It is possible to be Semitic and not be a “Jew.” The question becomes, why did Israel all get grouped as “Jews?”
Who are the Gentiles in the Scripture?
It is because the kingdom was torn in two; ten tribes went north to Samaria under Jeroboam, and Judah remained in the south under Rehoboam (Solomon’s son (1 Kings 14:21-31).
When Jeroboam fired the Levites as priests to the northern tribes, the Levites left the north and returned to the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12). Along with them, many from the tribes of Benjamin returned to be with their brother Judah but were all under the banner of Judah.
The Greeks called Judah, Judaea and this is why we have the term “Jew” popular today; really they are Israelites, Jew is a shorthand for Judah, and is just one of the 12 tribes (although leading tribe of the nation).
Now to the Gentiles
The Gentiles were referred to a bit in the New Testament. Primarily because the destroyers of Gentiles were in power, who were Nebuchadnezzar and his families following. Jesus warned His disciples not to go teach the Gentiles, but rather to go teach the lost sheep of the nation of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7). Why, and who are the Gentiles?
Now it has been presumed that the Gentiles were the sons of Japheth. We previously prescribed to this notion and idealogy! This is how we used to come to this conclusion:
In the book of Genesis, it initially identifies who they are.
Genesis 10
2The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Being a Gentile is Not Faith Based!
These are the sons of Japheth, the son of Noah; they are who the Gentiles are. During the time of Jesus Christ on earth, the Romans occupied rule over Jerusalem, and they were referred to as the Gentiles. Cornelius was the first Gentile pulled into the Church under the new covenant, and he was of the Italian band ((Roman) Acts 10).
Many groups of people today believe the Gentiles today are who we would categorize as white people or “white” Europeans. That is not altogether accurate, as there could be many Gentiles of color. Being a Gentile has nothing to do with faith or belief; it has everything to do with family, bloodline, and nationhood.
There are scholars who believe the term Gentiles simply means the nations. This is what we prescribe today. Gentile comes from the word goyim, which meant none Israelite or one from the nations!
Jews and Gentiles are only a particular family among many families in the earth. Gentiles are not a religion and they are not a faith. They are the nations aside from the house of Jacob. God bless you today, I pray this has edified you greatly. Peace and Jesus’ name.
Read the comment section for how we conclude the Gentiles are non-Israelites!
Who are the Gentiles in the Bible?
Selah
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I hear and understand you Stacie, but here is where my mind began to change from my old idealogy (Gentiles are the sons of Japheth) and into where I position now.
First, Africa and Asia house many of the children of Israel by way of the captivity and those who fled there. Typically, when we say Africa, biblically speaking we are thinking of Ham, when we say Asia, we are thinking Shem, and Europe we’re thinking Japheth. Generally speaking, but we know that is not the case all the time.
Now when Jeremiah was a prophet being sent, he was sent to the NATIONS!
See Jeremiah chapter 1
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
So he was sent to the nations! He first went to Israel/Judah his people, following protocol, then he was sent to the nations! Let me show you the nations and you tell me if they are Japheth/Gentile?
Jeremiah 46 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
Jeremiah 47 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
Jeremiah 48 King James Version (KJV)
1 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
Jeremiah 49 King James Version (KJV)
1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? (yea) is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
Jeremiah 50 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
What do we have, Jeremiah was sent to the nations and he went to Egypt, Palestine (Philistines), Moab, Ammon, Esau/Edom, and Babylon.
Are these Gentiles or a mixture of Shem and possibly Ham in the form of the Philistines, and certainly Ham in Egypt?
I’d love to hear your take on this because my take was Gentile means what it means in Hebrew, the heathens/nations! This is what Israel considered those who were not sons of Jacob! WAR (With All Respect, Stacie).
This is cool!
The Word of God is power and cool…
Elder Yates
The one thing Gods word has taught me is, it is truth, 1 Samuel 16:7 spells it out, For the lord seeth not as man seethes, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart ( inward). Listen in Ephiesian 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with christ, by his grace (God) we are saved. The Holy Spirit guide me to share this by these following scripture, Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the others apostles answered and said, We ought to Obey God rather than men.
His richness he gives us is God grace, and threw his son mercy Jesus beening on the cross, going into the belly of the world three days & three nights and rising to give us glory, forefulling Gods will for us, and Yeshua/Jesus being are salvation! Jesus and his apostles stated all of this I say clearly in Gods word,
Gods word is beautiful when you get discernment
from the Holy Spirit of these things and others
[…] us in Jeremiah and in Matthew’s chapter 20. The Gentiles (or Europeans) began many of the “holidays” […]
[…] European, He would have been a Gentile who are the sons of Japheth, according to Genesis 10 verses 5. The ruling powers of Jesus […]
HI, I”ve been struggling with this subject for some time now, and I hope you can shed some light on this. I totally agree that for some reason, God specifically singled out Japeth as the progenitor of the gentiles; He never specified Ham and Shem as such. At least not in Genesis 10. But what are Hamite unbelievers called? Or even Shem unbelievers (outside of the Hebrews).
Hi Matu,
The Bible did not specify a name for them other than Ham, Shem, or their specific country such as Medes, Magog, Cush, etc. After a while, when Israel knew they weren’t Israel, they just called them a stranger or an alien. To single out Japheth and give his descendants another name, Gentiles, it definitely was done for out understanding today, as to who is who.
I totally agree. I’m re-reading my bible (like I do every other year), and I’m going to definitely note each mention of the word “gentiles” in my KJV, and study where and how this word is applied, and to whom. I need to make sure this application is consistent, so when I start preaching from the rooftops, I can do so with bold, stone cold conviction. Because this is a MYSTERY right here that needs to be exposed!!!
Just like the term Jew has become “symbolic” description for referring to all members of the 12 tribes of Israel since Jesus…of which Judah was one of them. Paul makes this clear when he says he is from the tribe of Benjamin yet he is a Jew. So also has the term Gentiles become “symbolic” description for referring to all non Jews, regardless of racial makeup. It is the Holy Spirit which has made this clear thru all the writings of the Apostles. It is also clear that such a designation continues to be made in the Book of Revelations which is detailing a world wide (all human kind) impact of change and tribulations saints.
I agree with lineage of the gentiles the Old Testament and we ought know that if the gentiles are blessed in the New Testament so is the world of every tongue and nation. Then until “the times of the gentiles be fulfilled” so shall all other nations and tongues be subject to that.
Blessings brother Gregory, that is fantastic insight. We are considering all things, and really appreciate your feedback and spiritual insight. God bless.
This was in reply to a Sister who viewed the video on youtube and she made her original comments there; I am just pasting them here:
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I hear and understand you Stacie, but here is where my mind began to change from my old idealogy (Gentiles are the sons of Japheth) and into where I position now. First, Africa and Asia house many of the children of Israel by way of the captivity and those who fled there.
Typically, when we say Africa, biblically speaking we are thinking of Ham, when we say Asia, we are thinking Shem, and Europe we’re thinking Japheth. Generally speaking, but we know that is not the case all the time.
Now when Jeremiah was a prophet being sent, he was sent to the NATIONS!
See Jeremiah chapter 1
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
So he was sent to the nations! He first went to Israel/Judah his people, following protocol, then he was sent to the nations!
Let me show you the nations and you tell me if they are Japheth/Gentile?
Jeremiah 46 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
Jeremiah 47 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
Jeremiah 48 King James Version (KJV)
1 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
Jeremiah 49 King James Version (KJV)
1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
Jeremiah 50 King James Version (KJV)
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
What do we have, Jeremiah was sent to the nations and he went to Egypt, Palestine (Philistines), Moab, Ammon, Esau/Edom, and Babylon.
Are these Gentiles or a mixture of Shem and possibly Ham in the form of the Philistines, and certainly Ham in Egypt?
I’d love to hear your take on this because my take was Gentile means what it means in Hebrew, the heathens/nations!
This is what Israel considered those who were not sons of Jacob!
WAR (With All Respect, Stacie).
Shalom, blessing upon you and your ministry. I, too, have only recently determined by the leading of the Holy Ghost, that the Gentiles are all other nations other than Israel. The verse that started me on my journey was Act 7:45 “Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;” None of the kingdoms that were driven out were Japhethites, yet they were called Gentiles. Be encouraged and continue to bless the Israel of God.
Brother Lewis, bless you and that is another great insight that I thank you for. The Holy Spirit is truly leading and guiding.
Elder Ishe
Whew a lot to take in. Thank you for your insight. Spirit/ Scripture Filled.
Ok I’m not one who stays in the Old Testament. I do go there when the Holy Spirit lead me to in my studies. I had an conversation about The 12 Tribes of Israel. So this led me to searching the Old Testament, google etc. Which led me here. We were discussing other religions / belief. One that was in question was Black Hebrew Israelites. I said they were a cult and there were many different branches/ kinds. So next it was brought up about how much the Jews are hated etc. Then it was discussed how much Blacks/ Afro-Americans were hated. So the question was are they part of the 12 Tribes of Israel. I said no because they are Gentiles not Israelites. It was also said they( Blacks ) were hated and mistreated more than any other group of people. They must be part of the tribe some how. You see I would like your biblical/ Holy Spirit/ Scripture filled insight pertaining to this subject. We both are Born -Again Christians / Saved by Grace and not of Works ( Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4 )
Thank you
Thanks for your comment and for pursuing the truth. The best thing you wrote is the Holy Spirit is guiding you. The “Jewish” people are not Jews. They are in fact the sons of Esau. “Black” people are some of the Israelites scattered throughout the world today. Both the house of Israel and the Gentiles are children of the Father, the only separation was the Father made a covenant with Abraham to use his offspring to recover the other sons of Adam to repentance. We all partake in the grace given by the Father through His Son.
The way we justify the children of Israel today are (a portion that is) “black” people is based on the prophetic writings of Moses in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. Read the chapter and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to your own conclusions and I will submit other writings to edify also.
Nikki, that is the short on it.
Elder Ishe