. ____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 11, 2009 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) The Dispersion (Alan Jones) 2) The Lord's People -- The Church (Lowell Blasingame) ____________________________________________________ -1- The Dispersion by Alan Jones "Has Ezekiel gone mad?" This may have been the reaction of some after they watched Ezekiel shave his head and beard, weigh the hair, divide it into thirds, and then burn a third, strike a third with a sword, and scatter the remaining third to the wind. However, Ezekiel was not mad, but he was signifying the punishment soon to fall on Jerusalem, a punishment which would pave the way for the salvation of the world (Ezek. 5:1-12). When Ezekiel tossed his hair into the wind, he was not telling God's people anything new. In giving the blessings and curses of the Law (Deut. 28-30), God had sworn that if Israel disobeyed him, he would scatter them among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other (Deut. 28:64; Ps. 106:26-27). Soon after Ezekiel's hair was swept away by the wind, Jerusalem fell and the Diaspora or Dispersion began. Against the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah, a remnant from Jerusalem went to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them (Jer. 43). When the Persians gave the order that those taken captive by the Assyrians and Babylonians could return to their homes, only a small proportion chose to do so. The sons of Korah wrote that God had scattered them among the nations (Ps. 44:11). Haman described the Jews to the Persian king as "scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom" (Esth. 3:8). In the 400-year period of silence between Malachi and John the Baptist, the dispersing of the Jews continued both by force and free will. Ptolemy I of Egypt (322-285 B.C.) captured Jerusalem and took home captives, adding greatly to the Jewish population of Alexandria. Antiochus the Great of Syria (223-187 B.C.) removed 2,000 families from Jewish communities in Mesopotamia and Babylon and settled them in Phrygia and Lydia. Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C. and carried away hundreds of Jews to Rome. During the period "between the Testaments," the Jews also voluntarily emigrated for the purpose of trade and commerce, as well as colonization, which was encouraged by the Greek kings who sought to "Hellenize" or to bring Greek culture to all of the peoples under their control. The Sibylline Oracles (mid-second century B.C.) say of the Jewish people, "every land and every sea is full of thee." God promised Abraham that he would bless all nations through his seed (Gen. 12:3). In his providence, he used the punishment of dispersion as part of the "fulness of the time" (Gal. 4:4) so that the good news of salvation through his Son might be readily presented and accepted throughout the world. The large Jewish population in Alexandria led to the translation of the Old Testament in Greek. The Septuagint or LXX (named so because of its 70 translators), began to be translated between 300 and 200 B.C. and was the "Bible" of Jesus, the apostles, and the first Christians. More importantly, this translation made what was once only a Jewish book, not only accessible to the world, but an influence upon it. Wherever the Jews went, if ten men were present in a city, they set up synagogues for the teaching of the Old Testament. Some Gentiles were proselytized to the Jewish religion. Other Gentiles became "God-fearers," those who accepted Judaism, but were not fully proselytized. As Paul and others evangelized throughout the Roman world, they first sought out the synagogues (Acts 13:14-15; 14:1; 17:14; 10-12 etc). In the midst of the desert of an idolatrous and immoral world, the preachers of the gospel found an oasis, an audience who believed in the one true God, who believed in the Scriptures, who had concern for moral living, and who had Messianic hopes. Tacitus, Suetonius, and Josephus, all wrote of widespread expectation that from Judea would rise a ruler whose dominion would be over all the world. Therefore, as the result of teaching in the synagogues, many converts were made, especially among the Gentiles. The gospel had its beginning when the dispersed had gathered from around the world for the feast of Pentecost (First-fruits) (Acts 2:9-11). That the gospel was preached on this occasion was no accident. The first-fruits were gathered unto God from those around the world, who later would scatter because of persecution and take the gospel home with them (Acts 11:19-20). The Diaspora certainly was the key to the spread of the gospel to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith (Rom. 15:26). As Christianity was accepted by the Diaspora and they received the blessings of the gospel, God fulfilled in a spiritual way his promise "to bring His scattered ones back together, to give them the land of Israel and a new heart and a new spirit" (Isa. 11:11-12; Ezek. 11:16-20; Zeph. 3:9-10; Matt. 24:31). And, this restoration of Israel was too small. Through God's use of the Diaspora, his Servant became a light of the nations so that his salvation might reach the end of the earth (Isa. 49:6). Aren't we thankful for the fulfillment of Ezekiel's hair scattered to the wind? -- Via Truth Magazine Vol. XLIV: 9 p22 May 4, 2000 ____________________________________________________ -2- The Lord's People -- The Church by Lowell Blasingame Vine defines "ekklesia" "from ek, out of and klesis, a calling (kaleo, to call)," (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. 1, pg. 83). This is the word which is commonly rendered "church" in our English versions of the New Testament where it occurs 115 times. Once it is used of Israel (Ac. 7:38), which had been "called out" of Egypt and, at the time, was in the wilderness making her way to the land which had been promised to her as an inheritance. Three times the word is translated "assembly," once of the group called out by Demetrius, the silversmith (Ac. 19:32) and twice of an assembly convened by the town clerk (Ac. 19:39, 41). This leaves 111 times that it occurs either in its singular or plural form of the Lord's people and we should be impressed by the Holy Spirit's giving us so much information about the Lord's "ekklesia." While the word identifies us as His called out, this word doesn't tell us how or by what we are called. People have strange ideas about how the Lord calls people. Some recite strange or unusual experiences which they have had which they interpret to mean is a call from the Lord. Usually, this will be an emotional sensation which they haven't experienced before. Or it may be something strange which they hear or see and they interpret this to be a call from the Lord. Since the Lord isn't a respecter of persons (Ac. 11:34-35) and isn't willing that any perish (2 Pet. 3:9) but wishes that all come to repentance, it would appear that He would call all in the same way. The Scriptures teach us how the Lord calls us. Paul said, "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 2:14) and "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present life" (Tit 2:11-12). So the medium through which God calls is the gospel, which is "the word of His grace" (Ac. 20:32) and the gospel is to be taught to all nations or every creature (Matt. 28:19; Mk. 16:15). Without exception, each case of conversion related in the book of Acts has persons first being taught. Ekklesia identifies us as the Lord's "called out" but the word doesn't tell us "out" of what or "into" what we are called. But the Scriptures do. They tell us that sin severs our spiritual relationship with God making us "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1) and, by such, we become "servants of sin" (Rom. 6:17) and need to be "delivered from the power of darkness" (Col. 1:13). It is by our obedience to the gospel or response to God's call that we are delivered from the power of darkness and "translated into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13), or "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness " (Rom. 6:18). The consummating act of obedience to this form of doctrine is obedience to the command to be baptized. In this act, we enter Christ (Gal. 3:27), where we become "new creatures" (2 Cor. 5:17) and we are buried and raised "to walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3-4). So, we are called out of an old relationship of alienation from God into one in which our union with Him is restored. Ekklesia tells us that we are called out but not the reason or why we are called out. But the Scriptures tell us this also. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:13) and that "ye should show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9). This ought to motivate one to respond to the call of the gospel and thereafter to live faithfully for the Lord. Think how wonderful it will be to hear Him say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). This will come only to those who respond to the call of the gospel. -- Via Taking a stand with Christ, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2008 ____________________________________________________ CHURCH OF CHRIST 201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn) Denham Springs, LA 70726 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 tedwards@onemain.com http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go DIRECTIONS: Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road, and go less then 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on the right. We assemble in its meeting room, which is very close to the reception counter. ____________________________________________________