Galilee of the Gentiles
Some of you may point out that Christ began his ministry in "Galilee of the Gentiles." Wouldn’t this mean that Christ was sent to the gentiles after all? One could assume this. But when we let the Biblical record define itself, we find the correct answer. We discover that the Greek word used in Matthew’s account in chapter four is ethnos. Unfortunately, the King James translators, who bought into the false notion that Christ was sent to the gentiles of the world thanks to Jerome's Latin Vulgate Bible translation, not understanding that Christ was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel as he plainly stated [Mat. 15:24], translated the word ethnos, as heathens, nations, people, and gentiles. In some verses, the same word ethnos is translated as two different words in English [see Gal. 3:8], which totally changes the intent and meaning of the verse. It can be confusing. So let's allow some clarity to shine into this misunderstanding. [See the Feature article, Moving Forward].
As the book, The Hijacked Elephant makes abundantly clear, the Bible is one book written to the same people. Thus, the word ethnos in the Biblical references the nations of Israel, unless the context clearly shows otherwise. When the apostle Paul, a descendant of Israel’s son Benjamin, says he is the apostle to the gentiles, the word used is ethnos. Correctly understood, Paul is the apostle to the nations. Which nations? The nations of the House of Israel, the same nations to whom Christ was sent. [See 1 Cor. 10:4; the Feature article, Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles].
The nations of the House of Israel remained in their divorced state only until the death and resurrection of Christ. Once this took place, major changes were implemented among the nations of Israel. However, it took a while for the alleged "gentiles", i.e., the House of Israel, attending sabbaths in the synagogues, for the effect of Christ's death and resurrection to become understood in the first century. When we fully realize this, it unlocks an understanding of the Biblical record that’s been lost from the first century. [See the Feature article, The Good News Colour Revolution, which shows that the use of Gentiles in Acts 13:13-52 is completely incorrect, and throws the reader off into the waiting arms of the Antichrist. Also see the flow chart at the end of the book; and chapter six, The Blind Man's Elephant, now a complimentary PDF on the Home page].
The Matthew four reference to Galilee of the gentiles actually is a quote from Isaiah 9. In Isaiah 9 it says, Galilee of the nations. Nations is the Hebrew word gowy, which is somewhat equivalent to the New Testament ethnos. In Genesis, when the LORD God made the covenant with Abraham, he said, "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you." [Gen. 17:6]. The word nations here is gowy as well. God wasn't telling Abraham he would make gentiles of you. It was nations. “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.” [Isa. 9:1,2; see the Feature article, Our Corrupted Compass].
The entire context of Isaiah's Old Testament passage, paraphrased in Matthew, concerns the nations of Israel, not the gentiles of the world. Just to make this clearer, who are these "gentiles" of Galilee, Zebulun and Naphtali? If we go over to Genesis 49, we see Israel talking to his twelve sons telling them what shall befall them as nations in the last days, meaning they are identifiable nations today. And whom do we find among Israel’s sons here? Zebulun and Naphtali, neither of whom are "gentiles of the world."
Why, then, did Christ begin his ministry at this place in Galilee? It fulfilled Israel’s Old Testament prophecy of Hosea, chapter one. Hosea was the first of the Assyrian period prophets. As Paul, a physical descendant of the House of Israel’s son Benjamin, not Judah, the Jews, told the Christians at Rome, “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was [732 BCE, the beginning of the Assyrian captivity; for the historical details, see the Feature article, Damascus A Heap Of Ruins] said unto them, you are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God … For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” [Rom. 9:26]. That place was Galilee of the nations of the House of Israel where Christ began his ministry, sent by our Father only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. [See the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
As we read in Luke when Christ began his ministry, “Then He [Christ] went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.” “He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.’ [See Mat. 15:24, Mat. 10:5, 6]. And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.” [Luke 4:31, 43, 44]. The gentiles of the world hardly would be found in the synagogues of Israel’s historical land on the Sabbaths. But you would find those descendants of the House of Israel to whom Christ was sent. [See Kingdoms map].
The first day of Christianity was Pentecost about 2000 years ago when our Father sent the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name. As we read in Acts 2:36ff, the apostle Peter, upon whom Christ built his church, addressed his remarks that day, not to the gentiles of the world, but to all the House of Israel. Peter told them to repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit of God. Are we to believe our Father and Peter got this wrong? It is not coincidence that Pentecost was the summer harvest high holy day of … Israel. It was for the twelve sons of Israel, and not just Judah, the Jews, all of which has absolutely nothing to do with the "gentiles of the world." [See the Feature articles, The Tale Of Two Covenants, and The Good News Colour Revolution].
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"Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations."