Isa 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
1 Thess 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
The breastplate is mentioned throughout the book of Exodus as a part of the garment worn by the Levite priests. Here in Isaiah & Thessalonians, the breastplate is likened to faith, love and righteousness.
The Levitical priesthood had a breastplate adorned with precious stones...in like manner, the saints, will have a spiritual breastplate of love, faith, righteousness and all the other spiritual fruits as they are the royal priesthood who are of the promise.
1 Pet 2:5&9 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ...But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness [righteousness], faith
2 Cor 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him [Christ], which is the head of all principality and power
Marques
Excerpt from 'What is the Gospel of the Kingdom' (http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6142.0.html):
A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS - A HOLY NATION
But he said you will be unto Me a holy nation and He is talking to Israel. Now this has got to come about. Either Israel has to become holy nation, a kingdom of priests. A kingdom implies kingship, royalty implies kingly, so if it’s royal it’s kingly. King… priests… holy nation… Israel. He said it, you shall be, thus says the Lord. It must happen. But it didn’t happen. It never happened historically, never happened.
It was a type. The Levites are gone, the priests of Aaron are gone, the Tabernacle and in later times the Temple, it’s all gone. They never became a holy nation.
But the Christian world looks for it to happen yet, over there in Palestine. Some of the most carnal people that ever lived and they say they are going to be that holy nation, that it’s going to happen through them. It will not happen through them. It will happen through God’s Israel though, make no mistake about that.
This was a type, the whole Old Testament is a type. [including the breastplate worn by the Levite priests-Marques] Even though the first 5 books are called the Torah - the Law, the whole Old Testament is also referred to as the Law.
Now Hebrews 10, here we’re not talking about the 10 Commandments, we are talking about the Old Testament - the old covenant - the Law of Moses and everything that went with it, the Law.
Heb 10:1 For the Law which has a shadow of good things to come…
There it is. There is your answer. God said Israel, all of you Israelites will be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. And Paul tells us that it was a type, a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things.
Heb 10:1 … not the very image of the things, appearing year by year with the same sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the comers there unto perfect.
They could not be a holy nation, if you’re holy you’re perfect, they weren’t. The writer of Hebrews says the Old Testament couldn’t bring about this holy nation. It was a shadow of what? Better things to come. Now there is some more of the definition of gospel - good news - better - good things to come.
He didn’t do it through Israel. Hebrews says it was a shadow of something to come. But the priests were all gone, the priests and the Levites and even the nation.
Nobody know where the nation is anymore. There is a good chance that people who claim to be Jews, make not be Jews by race at all. But by religion, not by race.
I mean there are a lot of Jews in Ethiopia, these are black African people and they are Jews. Ethiopia has a large population of black Jews and that history goes all the way back to the first century, that they have been Jews.
People have gotten sifted through the countries and the nations for 2000 years. So these people in New York, Chicago, Miami, LA and Jerusalem that claim to be Jews, some of them may have some Jewish blood in them, some may not.
There are better things to come. There is an interesting Scripture in Galatians.
If Israel is gone and the Levites are gone and the Aaron priesthood is gone and the Temple is gone and God is going to have an holy nation, where are they going to come from?
We’re in the book of Galatians, are the Galatians Jews or Gentiles? Galatians are Gentiles.
Gal 3:29 And if you (Galatians - Gentiles) are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
How about that! Promised through the woman, through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob and then we have the one Seed arrives. Jesus Christ taught all these things. He said, if ye are Christ, the one Seed and you’re Abraham, now you’re into multiple seeds.
Now go to the last chapter.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Is He talking about carnal Pharisees and the Scribes? No. Those that walk according to this rule, this new rule, this being an Israelite without being an Israelite, being circumcised without being circumcised, being a Jew while you’re a Gentile. That’s what this is all about, this is something different. But it’s going to fulfill that promise back in Exodus, He will make a royal nation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation out of who? Israel. What Israel? The Israel of God. Not those who are circumcised in the flesh, no no no.
Rom 2:28 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;”
Rom 2:29 “but he is a Jew who is one inwardly (he writing to the Gentile Romans here, the Roman that is…) circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit (he is the spiritual Jew; the Roman - the Galatian - the Philippian and…) not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
So if you are in Christ, you are of the Seed of Abraham, even though there is no bloodline connection. Spirit is thicker than blood.
THE ISRAEL OF GOD
Let’s see what Peter had to say about all this, in case you think Peter didn’t understand some of this stuff. Actually Peter was pretty good with the Scriptures. You remember who Jesus Christ gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to? Peter. Peter had it all worked out, he had a little problem there at Antioch, but after that he had it all worked out from then on.
1Peter 2:9 But ye (he is talking to Gentiles) are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, [priesthood; which is who the Levites were who wore the breastplate-Marques] a holy nation, His own peculiar (special) people…[/b]
Does that sound a little bit like Exodus 19? I will make out of you a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Where do you think Peter got it?
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
A chosen generation, a royal means kingly priesthood, a holy nation. A peculiar people, that comes out of about 3 different Greek words, the pronoun 'his' is in there and peculiar really means special. So what this is saying is, you are His - God’s precious people. That’s pretty neat, you are His precious people, not the Israel of old, not the Israel that came down through the seed of the devil, that was who? The Scribes and the Pharisees and they personified it, the leadership of the church and the Temple system, personified the nation. Not that seed, the seed of the devil.
You are the seed of Jesus Christ, you are of this Israel of God, like Paul talked about in Galatians.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.
1Peter 2:9 …so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
So the kingdom of God is what? The Israel of God! It’s those who through the faith of Abraham… that is the same faith that God gave to Abraham He gives to us, that’s the faith of Abraham. We become this peculiar, special people to God.
Now get this. Here's what He said we are. He said I will have a nation and I will have a people and it didn’t happen... but it was a type, a shadow of something that will happen.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that there is an Israel of God, those who are baptized in the Spirit, circumcised in the Spirit and they are now spiritual Israel, Jews. They are the real Jews, the ones that are converted in heart and mind and spirit. Then Peter comes right out and says, you are that royal family, that special people, that kingdom of priests, that holy nation, that’s what you are.
So what is it? It’s the gospel of the kingdom. What is the kingdom? YOU - WE are the kingdom! How about that. We are the kingdom. It’s the gospel, the good news of the kingdom. When you are spiritually converted and you are holy and you are circumcised in spirit and mind and soul and heart you are a spiritual Jew. You are the one that He said back there, I’m going to make you a holy nation, Israel, but not that Israel, that was a type. That was a shadow, that was only going to be a nation of people living in a certain land.
This kingdom is going to what? Bless all the nations. This is a big kingdom and it’s a spiritual kingdom, because the more we do away with the flesh, the more spiritual we get. The more we die to the flesh, the more we grow to the spirit.
So it’s not as negative as it seems when you get old and decrepit like me. The flesh is dying, but hopefully the spirit is growing. Where as I use to be dead in my spirit and soar in my flesh, now I’m almost dead in my flesh and soaring in my spirit. That’s good, that’s the way it should be. Do you see that in your life? You should see the flesh dying. I’m going to talk a little bit about that in the second part.
Marques