Pastor Greg L. Price can be contacted directly for a copy
of his Open Letter to Identity Friends by writing him at:
prcedm@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca

"The first to plead his case seems just, until another comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17, NASV) I am hopeful that in directly answering some of Pastor Price's criticisms of "Identity," some who read this will be inspired to be good "Bereans." In the first paragraph of Pastor Price's open letter he wrote, "...I cannot agree with the underlying foundation upon which their [Identity's] house is built: namely that the New Covenant is made only with the literal seed of Israel." It is not with Identity that Pastor Price does not agree. If we speak where the Scriptures speak and remain silent where they are silent, then it has to be admitted that nowhere in the Bible can a statement be found that establishes that the New Covenant was made with anyone but Israelites. ON the other hand, we have a double witness that it WAS MADE with Israelites (Jeremiah 31:31-33 & Hebrews 8:8-9; see also Romans 9:1-4). The very fact that these declarations are specific about whom God made the New Covenant with connotes exclusiveness. Granted there are passages that might be employed (some correctly and some incorrectly) in pointing out that non-Israelites can be proselytes to Yhshua (Jesus) the Christ and the New Covenant which belongs or pertains to the remnant of Israel (Romans 9:27 & 11:5) who have been saved in an by the blood atoning sacrifice of Yhshua. Nevertheless, that does not mean that the New Covenant was made with them anymore than Isaiah 56:1-7 means that the Abrahamic Covenant was made with non-Israelite strangers. If that had been the case (which I am quite confident that Pastor Price would agree with me that it was not), then it would have robbed the non-Israelite of their BETTER NAME before God. So that there will be no misunderstanding, let me state this clearly: I (and many other leaders and adherents of the Christian Identity message) believe that under the New Covenant non-Israelites CAN be saved through Yhshua's atoning blood sacrifice in the same fashion as Israelites (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). However, that does not make them Israelites (either physically or spiritually), nor does it mean that the New Covenant was made with them. So that there is no misunderstanding, I also believe that the principle of Isaiah 56 is as applicable under the New Covenant as much as it was under the Old Covenant. That is, that the non-Israelite who joins himself to YHWH through Yhshua has a better name before YHWH than does the Israelite who does the same. By the way, just as the covenants belong to (were and are made with) Israel, so does the becoming "sons of God." The Apostle Paul declares that both the covenants and the adoption (of sons, NASV) pertain (belong, NASV) to Israel (Romans 9:3-4). Galatians 3:26 corresponds to Romans 4:4-5 which speaks again of the "adoption of sons" that pertains to Israel. Later in his letter Pastor Price wrote, "The contrast Paul makes is between those who are Israel and those who are not (I.e. Those who are not Israel are called Gentiles and are distinguished from Israel in this chapter, cf. Rom. 11:25-26)." Pastor Price has jumped to the same erroneous conclusion about Romans 11 as I originally did, I.e., that the Gentiles in Romans 11 are non-Israelites since they are contrasted with Israelites. And because we usually fail to do what the Apostle Paul essentially instructs us to do in Romans 9:24-26 in order to correctly identify what gentiles (better translated nations; refer to any Hebrew and/or Greek lexicon) it is that he is referring to. The Jews' in Romans 9:24 represent only Israelites descended from the house of Judah. The Gentiles' represent descendants from the divorced and gentilized house of Israel who lost the right to be called "Israel," I.e., ruling with El(ohiym) Hosea 1:3-9. Romans 9:24 is declaring essentially the same thing as Hebrews 8:8: "...whom he hath called [made the New Covenant with], not of the Jews (the house of Judah) only, but also of the Gentiles [the house of Israel]." I know this goes contrary to what we have been taught but I challenge you to do what the Apostle Paul tells us to do. Let the Bible be its own commentary and go back and read Hosea 1 and 2 (from which Paul quotes) and discover for yourself who the Gentiles/nations are that he is referring to. You might also want to go back and read about the prophesied reunion and bringing to life of the two dead sticks representing the house of Judah and the house of Israel in Ezekiel 37. And, note how perfectly Romans 9:24b ("...of [from among,NASV] the Gentiles [ethnos, often translated heathen"] fulfills Ezekiel 37:21 ("...I will take the children of [the house of] Israel from among the heathen [goi, often translated Gentiles]...."). Once you let the Bible (specifically the Prophet Hosea & the Apostle Paul) correctly identify who the Jews and Gentiles are in Romans 9-11, it becomes apparent that the two olive branches of Romans 11 are not describing the union of Israelites and non-Israelites. Instead they are the beautiful fulfillment of the prophesied (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 37, Hosea 1 & 2, Micah 5, etc.) reunion of the house of Judah and the house of Israel. Note how perfectly the two living olive branches (only used for Israelites in the Bible) of Romans 11 fulfill perfectly the coming of life and reunion of the two dead sticks of Ezekiel 37. Following Pastor Price's discussion of Romans 11 he stated, "Now it seems to me that if what I have stated above is accurate, the very foundation of Identity has been pulled out from underneath." Of course, the opposite is that if he has NOT been accurate in his evaluation of Romans 11 then the foundation remains intact. I would think that just the little that I have shared concerning Romans 11 should, at the very least, cause the reader to go back and re-examine this and the related passages. For those who would like a more comprehensive study of these passages, I address them in the book "God's Covenant People: Yesterday, Today, and Forever" and in a 5 part audio cassette tape series entitled "Mystery of the Gentiles." I am offering them for those who would like to "search the Scriptures" to see "whether those things are so." The book is a 400 plus page hardback with over 700 documented quotes and is available for an offering of $23.00 postage paid, and the tape series is also available for the same offering. For anyone ordering both the book and the tape, they need only send a $40.00 offering. They can be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. (Chapter 3 of God's Covenant People can be read at: Spiritualizing Israel, online at the G.O.A.L. Reference Library Before leaving Romans 11, it should be pointed out that it is NOT the adherents to the Christian Israel message who are guilty of teaching saved by race. Instead, that accusation should be applied to anyone who teaches that the phrase "all Israel shall be saved" in Romans 11:26 means that every single Jew (who by their own admissions are NOT even genetic descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) will someday be saved. THAT is clearly the doctrine of Saved by Race! However, Romans 11:26 does not teach such racism. Instead, when the two olive branches are correctly identified and Romans 11:26 is considered in relation to Romans 9:27 ("...though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a REMNANT shall be saved") the true meaning of these verses becomes apparent. That is, that a remnant from both the house of Judah (Jews/Judahites) and from the house of Israel (the divorced and gentilized Israelites) shall be saved. In other words, a remnant (Romans 9:27 & 11:5) from all (Romans 11:26) Israel shall indeed be saved. For those who think that the two olive branches reflect Israelites and non-Israelites there is no reconciliation of Romans 9:27 and Romans 11:26. I will now attempt to briefly address and clarify the five points listed by Pastor Price, regarding what Identity supposedly teaches or does teach: 1. "Identity teaches that the house of Judah returned from exile, but not the house of Israel. However, the prophets prophesied that Israel and Judah would return to the land of Israel together from the land of their captivity[ies] (Jer. 3:18, 30:1-3, 33:7, Jer. 50:1-6, 17-20, Is. 11:11-16, Ez. 37:16-22)." These statements are accurate except in that Pastor Price is implying that these passages are referring to the return of the Judahites to Jerusalem with Ezra. However, these passages have nothing to do with that return. They are instead describing the reunion of the house of Judah and the house of Israel at the time of the New Covenant. Please consider the context of these passages which Pastor Price listed, for example Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 37:24-28 (the David referred to is the Greater David, Yhshua the Christ; the everlasting covenant of peace referred to is of course the New Covenant). The prophet Micah prophesied of this same reunion between those two houses. He clearly revealed that this reunion was to occur, not at the time of Ezra, not at the second advent of Christ, but rather at the first advent of Christ (Micah 5:2-3). 2. "Identity teaches that those returned from captivity were of the house of Judah alone and therefore called Jews...." This also is an accurate statement, however it should be understood that Christian Identity simply agrees with Scripture in this regard. Carefully read Ezra 10:7-9 & Nehemiah 7:6. I address this point in much greater detail in "God's Covenant People" for those interested. Several sources are quoted that further establish that rather then both houses returning at this time it was only the house of Judah. For example Rabbi Kimchi is quoted: "And this will come to pass in the gathering together of the Captivity in the days of the Messiah, for unto the Second Temple (of Ezra and Nehemiah's day] there only went up Judah and Benjamin [of the house of Judah] who were carried captive to Babylon; and the children of Judah and the children of Israel were NOT gathered together at that time." Keep in mind, if indeed the two houses of Israel were reunited at the time of Ezra it makes null and void the prophecies of this reunion (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 37, Micah 5, etc.) that clearly establish that it was to occur, not under the Old Covenant, but rather under the Kingship of Yhshua during the New Covenant age. 3. "Identity teaches that the term Jew' in the New Testament refers to the apostate religion of Judaism." I certainly can not speak for everyone who embraces the Identity message, but as for those leaders and adherents alike who I am acquainted with, this is not a true representation of what they believe. The term "Jew" as used in the New Testament refers to descendants of the house of Judah, except where it is clearly referring to impostors such as found in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. 4. "Identity teaches that the term Gentile' or nations' refers to Israelites." This statement is only partially correct. Christian Israel teaches (as confirmed by the Scriptures along with every Hebrew and Greek lexicon that I am familiar with) that the Hebrew word "goi" and the greek word "ethnos" from which the English word "Gentiles(s)" is translated are generic terms and that the context must determine who the goi and ethnos are in each reference. Anyone can easily determine for themselves that there are BOTH non-Israelite and Israelite goi and ethnos (gentiles/nations) for themselves. 5. "Identity teaches that only Israel could sin (sin is transgression of the Law and only Israel was given the Law), and thus only Israel needs to repent of sin." Once again this is only partially correct. Let it first be established that it is God in His Word that teaches that sin is a transgression of the law -- I John 3:4, etc. And, that it is the Bible that reveals that it was Israel who was given the Law, to whom the Law pertaineth -- Deuteronomy 33:4, Psalms 78:5, Romans 9:3-4, Psalm 147:19,20, etc. Thus it is required for both Israelites and any non- Israelites who are proselytes to the covenant belonging to Israel (thus placing themselves under the law of the covenant) to fulfill the New Covenant requirements for salvation in Christ. Essentially this is no different from what was required under the Old Covenant, except in that Yhshua is our sacrifice and the conditions have changed. For example, just as non-Israelites were required to be physically circumcised under the Mosaic Covenant to partake of the Passover lamb the same is essentially true under the New Covenant. The non-Israelite, just like the Israelite, must in faith and repentance be baptized (immersed) for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:36-42, Acts 22:1-16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27, Colossians 2:9-14, etc.) in order to "partake" of Yhshua, our Passover Lamb in order to have their sins (transgressions of the Law) forgiven. In Pastor Price's concluding paragraph he declared, "... [The truth from Romans 11] is the same truth taught in Ephesians 2:11-17." That is absolutely correct in that Ephesians 2:12-16 is ALSO fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies regarding the reunion of the house of Judah and the house of Israel. For example, Ephesians 2:13-14 is the perfect fulfillment of Micah 5:2-5. "God's Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever" deals with Ephesians 2 in greater detail as well. In the last two sentences of Pastor Price's letter he refers to the mystery of the gospel. That mystery, at least in part, has to do with the mystery of the Gentiles (mentioned five times in the New Testament). According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 16:25-26, the mystery of the Gentiles is made manifest through the Scriptures of the Prophets. The Scriptures of the Prophets clearly reveal that in many cases in the New Testament the gentiles/nations referred to are the descendants from the divorced and gentilized house of Israel. Anyone who would like to just listen to the tape series "Mystery of the Gentiles" at no cost may do so by simply ordering it from Mission to Israel Ministries on a listen and return basis. Once again, I hope that this dialogue will promote further study of God's perfect and holy Word. May God direct all of us as we pursue to know Him and His Word better. Serving the KING Of kings, Ted R. Weiland, Evangelist Mission to Israel Ministries P.O. Box 248 Scottsbluff, NE 69363