Gods Holy People God chose Israel to be His special people with a special relationship to Him in the Old

Testament: Psalm 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. Deuteronomy 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Amos 3:1-2 O children of IsraelYou only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Israel held a special relationship to God, above His relationship to all other peoples. This special relationship continued in the New Testament. Israel remained Gods special chosen people in the New Testament.

Romans 11:1-2 11 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
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God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; God did not cast away His people. They remained a peculiar people, or set apart, to God. In the New Testament, the New Covenant was made only with Israel, not the world.

Hebrews 8:8,10 8 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
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For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

God reaffirmed the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant, I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. This reaffirmation, or New Covenant, was made with the same people God had chosen to make it with before, Israel.

Everything in the Bible pertains specifically to this people, Israel, who are special to God. Every part of the Bible, from the covenants, to the law of God, even to the Redemption of Christ, is written for and about Gods people, Israel. Even the adoption into the family of God is only for and about Israel. Many mistake this adoption to mean other peoples become part of Gods children, but as we will find later, it refers instead to the rejoining of the divorced Kingdom of Israel to the Kingdom of Judah who God never divorced. Romans 9:4-5 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
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Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Even the Word of God itself, the Bible, was given only to Israel. God did not give His Word to any other nation. Psalms 147:19-20 19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD. The very purpose of Christ is inextricably linked to Gods Holy people, Israel. Christ came to redeem Israel in fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Christ came exclusively for Israel. He did not come to any other nation. Luke 1:68-73 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
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And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

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Matthew 15:24 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 10:5-6 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So the Bible tells us the purpose of Christ was to redeem His people, Israel, because of the covenant God promised to our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this purpose was for Israel and not for any other nation.

Christ made a difference between Israelites and other races of men. He did not regard the other races as the children of God. They are part of His creation and they are blessed by the Kingdom of God, but they are not Gods children and they hold a different place before God than Israel does. Matthew 15:22-28 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
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But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
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But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

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And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Christ clearly recognized a different relationship to God for the woman of Canaan than the relationship Israelites hold with God. Christ told her He was sent only to Israel of which she was not part. He told her it was wrong to give what belonged only to the children of God to her because she was not one of Gods children. After she acknowledged and accepted this different relationship with God, Christ gave her the healing she requested.

There are a number of differences the Bible clearly makes between Gods chosen people, Israel and the other peoples of the world. Marriage between Israelites and the other races of men was prohibited by God. Genesis 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: Abraham did not want his son to marry the other peoples of the land. He wanted him to marry only among his own people.

Genesis 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? Genesis 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Isaac and Rebekah wanted Jacob to marry only among his own people and commanded him not to marry the other people in the land.

Judges 14 2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
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Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
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But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Samsons parents, as was considered moral in Israel, thought it wrong for Samson to marry a Philistine woman. It was appropriate only to marry among his own people. God brought the union about not as an example of a good marriage, but for His divine purpose of causing a war to free Israel from Philistine dominion.

Ezra 9:1-3, 6-7 9 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
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For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
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And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
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And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. The holy seed mingling with the people of the land through marriage was iniquity and a trespass against God.

When interracial marriage did occur God commanded divorce and separation even from the little children that came from the marriages. Ezra 10:2-3 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
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Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. The separation commanded here from even the children shows Gods concern was not just over pagan religious influence. Young children do not hold religious beliefs and can be converted, but the Bible did not urge the conversion of the children. It ordered separation. The necessity of separation from children shows God holds a difference between His people and the other races of men which He does not want crossed. God also commanded that a child born of a mixed race marriage could never enter the congregation of the Lord. The word bastard is the English translation of the Hebrew word mamzer which means mongrel, i.e. born of a Jewish father and a heathen mother. (Strongs Concordance) Deuteronomy 23:2-3 2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
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An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Israel is a special people to God. Children born of mixtures between Israel and other peoples, as well as people of other nations surrounding Israel, were not allowed to join the congregation of Israel for ever. God does not allow for eventual conversion. He forbids them for ever.

But peoples related to Israel were allowed to join the congregation after a period of time. Deuteronomy 23:7-8 7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
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The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

Together, these passages clearly show God regards various peoples differently. Israel, as Gods special people, are to remain separate, mingling only with their brethren. Esau was considered a fornicator even though his relationships to his Canaanite wives were all within the bounds of marriage. This is because fornication, or unlawful sexual relations, includes interracial relationships. Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

The Bible predicts there will be rampant interracial mixing in the end times and tells us though the peoples mingle they will never fit well together because they are fundamentally different. Daniel 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. After Christs return, in the Kingdom of God, the races of men will be separated. Isaiah 13:14 14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. In the Kingdom of God, Israel will continue to hold a special relationship with God. Entrance to the holy city, New Jerusalem, will be through the twelve gates of the twelve tribes of Israel. Revelation 21:10-12 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
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Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: The Kingdom of God will be composed of the people of the tribes of Israel who will be judged by the Apostles. Matthew 19:28 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Notice, the Apostles will be judging the tribes of Israel, not the world. The other nations of the world will be governed and judged by Israel, as the chosen children of God in the Kingdom. This will not be exploitation but for the benefit of all.

Isaiah 61:4-6, 9 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
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And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
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But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
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And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

It was Israel who was given the law and Israel who was married to God, so it is Israel who is made free to remarry by the death of her husband Christ. In the Kingdom, Christ will remarry Israel, not the world. Romans 7:2-4 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
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So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Jeremiah 3:1, 8, 12-15, 17-18 3 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
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And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
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Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
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Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

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Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
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And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
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At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. These passages tell us Israel was married to God. So Christ had to die to free Israel from her broken marriage obligation and allow her to be free to remarry our Savior. The people Romans is talking about are the people that had been married to God. The other nations of the world were never married to God as Israel was. Jeremiah shows us it is Israel who God wanted to remarry, not the other nations of the earth.

In the last days the Bible says there will be people who claim to be Israel, but are not. Revelation 2:9 I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Evidence from history, archeology, linguistics and genetic studies tell us the true descendants of Israel are the modern European peoples. But the simplest evidence comes from the Bible itself. Gods children hear His voice. It is the European peoples, and only the European peoples, who have broadly heard and accepted the Word of God and carried the torch of Christianity. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

The argument for universalism comes from a lack of understanding of Gods divorce and separation from the Northern Kingdom of Israel while He remained married to the Southern Kingdom. Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel prophecy of a rejoining of these two peoples and the New Testament references this rejoining. The New Testament references to this rejoining have been misconstrued as an abandonment of Gods special relationship with Israel and inclusion of all nations into Gods children. A few passages are generally used to support this assertion including Acts 10: Acts 10: 9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
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And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

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And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
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Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
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And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

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And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
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This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

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Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,
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And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

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Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
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And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. And verse 28
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And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
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Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
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And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
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And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

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Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.

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Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
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Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

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The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; Notice two things about this passage. In verse 36 it tells us again the word of God was sent unto the children of Israel. And in verse 15 it says Peter should not call any man unclean who God has cleansed. Now who was cleansed by God? Were the other races of men unclean? Or was it the Kingdom of Israel which was unclean? Only Israel was given the law. Only Israel needed cleansing. The people who God had cleansed were the Northern Kingdom of Israel who God had divorced for whoredom. It was this kingdom who was unclean and needed cleansing. The Southern Kingdom of Judah regarded their divorced sister kingdom as unclean. God was showing Peter they had been cleansed by Him. Confirmation of this is found in Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37:16-23 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:
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And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

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And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
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Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
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And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

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And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
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And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel tells us it was Israel which was defiled and Ezekiel then goes on to prophecy God will save them out of the heathen nations where they were driven and will cleanse them and rejoin the two kingdoms. It was Israel which were the people God cleansed. This is the prophecy of the same event Peter saw. God cleansed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Another passage used to argue universalism is Romans 8. Romans 8:14-17 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
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For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
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The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

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And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Here we have a reference to adoption which is commonly used to imply the inclusion of all people into Gods chosen. Context to this passage is found in Galatians. Galatians 4:1-5. 4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
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But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
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To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Both in Romans 9 and in Galatians when the Bible talks about adoption it says it pertains specifically to Israel. Romans 9 declares it outright. Galatians says the adoption was for those who were under the law which is exclusively Israel. It then goes on to say because they were sons God sent His Spirit. The passage talks about people who were sons, heirs, from the beginning. They were like servants but are then raised to their role as heirs. It does not say people who were not sons become sons as universalism teaches.

Another passaged used by universalism is Romans 11.

Romans 11:11-25 11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
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Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
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For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

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For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
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For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

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And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
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Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

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Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
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For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

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Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
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And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
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For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
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For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. This passage can also be properly understood only in light of the context of Ezekiel 37. It is the fall of the Southern Kingdom which allows the regrafting in of the cast off kingdom of Israel. Israel, the unclean, divorced, cast-off kingdom rejoins the Kingdom of Judah in their marriage to God. Notice verse 24 talks about the natural branches being grafted into their own olive tree. Grafting into the olive tree means to be joined to God. Grafting does not mean taking something that is foreign and

joining it. Both the natural branches and the wild branches are grafted. The wild branches do not mean non-Israel nations. They mean the people of Israel which were cast-off. Confirmation of this is found in verse 26
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And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: It says all Israel will be saved. This is as opposed to just the Kingdom of Judah being saved. God is saying He will save all Israel, not just Judah. The passage does not say, so all the world shall be saved as universalism implies. It says and so or because of this grafting which Romans talks about all Israel shall be saved. This is a reference to the prophecy of Hosea 1 which we will look at in a minute. Another passage used for universalism is Romans 9:24-31.
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Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

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As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
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And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
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Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
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For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
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And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
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What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
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But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
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Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; Just like Romans 11 we have another reference to Hosea, this time specifically mentioned in the passage itself. Lets look at Hosea 1:2-11 which is the referenced passage. Hosea 1:2-11 2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
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So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
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And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.

And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
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But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
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Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

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Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
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Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. So who are the people that were called not my people? That reference in Hosea and Romans is describing the people who God divorced and separated Himself from, Israel. Hosea 1:10 makes that very clear. It is not a reference to other nations outside of Israel. Hosea describes what God was going to do with Israel who He had divorce and Judah who He had remained married to. He was going to rejoin the two kingdoms. It is this rejoining and cleansing which Romans 8, Romans 11, Galatians 4 and Acts 10 all refer to. Romans 9 specifically says this is the prophecy it is talking about. The subject of the gentiles must be understood in this context. One other set of verses used by universalists use the phrase neither Jew nor Greek. Examples are: Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And lets go to Romans 10:11-21: Romans 10:11-21

11

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

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For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And go to verse 18
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But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
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But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
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But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
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But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. Again we see the reference to the people who were not a people which Hosea showed us is the northern Kingdom of Israel. We also have a reference to Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65:1-9 65 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
2

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
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A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
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Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
5

Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
6

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
7

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
8

Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. So who does God say He will save? Verse 1 describes this people as a people who were not called by His name. This is a reference to Israels divorced status. She was no longer married to God so she no longer carried the name of her husband. Verse 8 goes on to describe this people as a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah. So Isaiah 65, which Romans 10 directly cites, is talking about Israel, not the other nations of the world. Yet again we see the same situation. God is talking about the rejoining of Israel and Judah together into one Kingdom under Christ. To say there is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ is to say both Judean and Israelite are the same in Christ.

In summary, it is undeniable God had a special relationship with Israel in the Old Testament. This relationship required separation from the other nations. It forbid intermarriage and did not allow unrelated nations to join in the congregation of Israel. And God does not change. This relationship with a special people was not discarded, or cast-off in the New Testament. It continued and the New Covenant was made with the same people. The people that were cleansed by God refers to divorced Israel. The people that were adopted into the Kingdom of God refers to divorced Israel. The people that were not my people and grafted in refers to divorced Israel. Gods purpose in Christ was redeem His people Israel, saving them, remarrying them, and rejoining them together into His Kingdom.