Latin "Gentile" or Greek "Nation?"

Shortly after relocating to a new town, I discovered a local 6 a.m. Saturday morning bible study. The small gathering was led by a man who also led a prison ministry some four hours drive away. He was quick to let me know that in the 18 years he had been leading the prison ministry and driving to and fro all those years, that he never had to cancel a meeting because of illness, car trouble or weather. Obviously, God had been guiding and overseeing that ministry all those years, right?

During the third meeting of this study group composed mostly of elderly men, we were looking at 2 Timothy 1. As is my lifelong custom, I was prepared for the study by having studied the passage in the week leading up to the gathering. One of the other members initiated the early morning discussion by relating how he had picked up a woman he saw walking on the side of the road. He discovered she was on the way to the pharmacy to purchase medicine for her child. The problem was, she didn't have the money and didn't yet know how she was going to pay for what she needed to help alleviate her child's ailment. The man, with watery eyes, went on telling his story of how the Lord used this women's faith to reach his conscience. He related how the Lord moved him, despite his own the lack of funds, to supply her needs.

With that as the take-of point, the leader of the group went on for several minutes praising this bible study member for using his gifts of mercy and giving to help another. He brought us to the well known passages in I Corinthians 12; how we all have differing gifts, and even if we are only the little finger on one hand, God can and will use us to meet the needs of other members of the body of Christ.

We then moved on to read and discuss 2 Timothy 1. When we reached verse 11: "Unto which I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles," I asked, being the newest member of the group not wanting to impose, if I could comment? The bible study and prison ministry leader spoke up and said, "Sure, we encourage participation. What do you have to contribute?" I said that the word Gentile is a Latin word and should not be in the verse, or any other verse in the New Testament. The Greek word used by Paul here was ethnos, and means nation, and should be translated nations, not Gentile, which has come to mean "non-jew."

Saying those words was like I had passed the worst gas imaginable. No, it was worse than that, I had committed blasphemy; I had questioned the King James Version of the bible, which I was soon to be told, in no uncertain terms, was THE inspired word of God. How dare I suggest that there was an error in the translation that has brought salvation to so many millions of Christians down through the ages?

I went on to explain, which I knew, from many similar experiences, was going to be a futile attempt, that a misunderstanding of the word ethnos, as Gentile, and not nation or nations, would lead the bible student to numerous errors of interpretation, errors that would cause nothing but confusion in trying to understand what Scripture teaches concerning who Paul is trying to reach when he uses the word ethnos. He is not talking about non-jews, he is talking about fellow Israelites.

Boy, did that set off the fireworks of indignation. The leader starting defending the authorized King James Version as being used by God to save countless souls for hundreds of years. He even raised his KJV translation in his left hand and declared: THIS is the inspired word of God! "The original Hebrew and Greek scriptures are the inspired word of God, not the multitude of translations," I replied. "Were those tablets Moses took down the mountain written in the KFV?

More indignation, this time from the man who had the gift of mercy and compassion not more than ten minutes earlier. He spoke up, his anger barely contained. "You're pissing me off, and you don't want to piss me off," he said, as he rose from his chair and walked away from the table to cool off.

I then said to the rest of the group, "No more than 10 minutes ago you all were going on about how we each have a gift or gifts to be used for the edification of others. I've been told by many I have the gift of teaching. I'm simply exercising my gift when I tell you that the Latin word Gentile should not be used in an English translation of the bible because it causes confusion, even deception. How is it that the gift of mercy is quite acceptable, and is encouraged to be used for the benefit of the rest of the body, but the gift of teaching is not to be used and the teaching is not to be accepted? You haven't disagreed that the word Gentile is Latin, and the original is ethnos, which means nation. So, what is the problem?"

The "leader" then asked, "What does this have to do with the saving of souls for Christ?"

I said, "Once one understands who Paul is speaking to, and who the gospel is for, it makes all the difference in the kingdom."

The leader then raised his KJV of the bible into the air and proclaimed with a loud voice: "THIS IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD! It has been used by God to save millions of souls, including mine and everyone here in this room."

By this time, I had made my point. By this time I knew I would be wasting time and my breath. I closed my bible, which just happens to be a Scofield Reference Bible, by which I had been deceived by for most of my life, told the group good morning, and walked out.

No doubt I had created quite a stir, upsetting that group of righteous Judeo-Christians who then most likely spent the rest of the meeting despising me and what I had to say. Luke 23:11.

The saddest aspect of this episode is that this same scene could be repeated in Judeo-Christian-zionist congregations in all white nations today. No one caring that they are being deceived. No one questioning the status quo. No one daring to think other than what most of their small group of narrow-minded brainwashed fellow pew-sitters think, as they sit listening week after week to flat stone teaching. No one reflecting on what was just said and asking themselves "Gee, what if he is right? What if God sent that man to our little group to wake us up and we didn't listen?"

"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Revelation 3:22 KJV

Note: Some readers may be asking How is translating ethnos as Gentiles rather than nations causing confusion? The reason is most Judeo-Christians, an oxymoron, believe Christ came to save the jews not non-jews, i.e., the Gentiles. The reality is, in Christ's own words, "I have not come but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The house of Israel are the descendants of the 12 Tribes of Israel, not to be confused with jews. The 12 Tribes were and are the Anglo-Saxon-Scandinavian-Celtic-Germanic and kindred peoples. These tribes were scattered about the known world during the time of the apostles. The White race was the scattered "strangers of I Peter 1, the elect race of I Peter 2:9 and the twelve tribes scattered abroad of James 1:1.

The Blue Letter Bible has even gone so far, to continue the deception, to alter the meanings used in the online version of Strong's Concordance. Many many instances can be found where additional meanings have been added to Strong's Lexicon. Don't confuse the jew who reside in Palestine today with the Israelites of the Old and New Covenants.