Paul Coulter

[Stephen Holmes @SHolmes66305]

If we take Romans 11 seriously as Paul’s primary warning to Gentiles, then when we examine the early church fathers we can see a deliberate departure among gentiles taking place. I believe this departure in all of its forms (Calvin or Armenian) would not be acceptable to Paul who was seeking to bring gentiles into the “obedience of faith,” (Eph. 1:5). What that particular faith is, is what gentiles must be grafted into, and become obedient to.

The theological issues orbit salvation and judgment (resurrection), the kingdom, the New Covenant, and the meaning of the “church.” But these categories are not free-floating ideas. They are defined by their original sources -the law and the prophets- and further defined in Jewish apocalyptic in seeing their true fulfillments.

If Israel is the only elected nation, and Gentiles are grafted into Israel through Christ because He Himself is born within that nation, then we have a starting point that allows everything else to remain coherent.

Irenaeus (c. 130–202) read Romans 11 the way Paul wrote it: covenantally, within Jewish apocalyptic expectation, and with a future orientation (Rom 11:17–29; Against Heresies V.32–36). Gentiles are grafted in, not substituted. The olive tree is Israel, the branches are individuals within Israel, and Israel’s future remains God’s intended future as spoken in the Law and the Prophets. The New Covenant is inaugurated in Christ (Jer 31; Heb 8), but fulfilled at His return in resurrection, kingdom, and restored creation, not exhausted in the present “church age.”

Notably, no one in the first few centuries spoke of individual election as later theology would define it.

The first shift begins when Barnabas (late 1st–early 2nd century) and Justin Martyr (c. 100–165) reassign Israel’s identity to “the church” which to them was gentiles because Jews were cut off. This move is normalized through allegory by Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215) and Origen (c. 185–253), sealed by Augustine (354–430) when the church is declared the kingdom (City of God XX), and systematized much later by Calvin (1509–1564). National election becomes individual, perseverance becomes “saved or never saved,” Paul’s warning for Calvin meant the branches cut off were “never saved at all.” These are categories the apostles never taught.

Paul’s exhortation in Romans 11 is aimed squarely at Gentiles: “Do not be arrogant, but fear.” Irenaeus passes that test by holding to a concrete, future fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Many of the later fathers did not.

Modern theology followed the confidence of Gentile giants like Luther and Calvin, men of towering intellect but heirs of an already arrogant trajectory, while the Irenaean posture of Gentile humility and patient expectation was sidelined. Romans 11 warned us exactly where this would lead, and we see it today in the Reformed movement, Christian Nationalism, and other Gentile excesses rooted in arrogance rather than understanding. This is to show there is a long history that intentionally denied the covenant realities Jesus and the Apostles clung to. Calvinism, short handed as TULIP, was and is therefore a departure and remains an arrogant gentile theological framework that I do not think Paul would accept- he would rather rebuke it and call those gentiles to submit to the God of Israel, and come under the “obedience of faith” as he was calling ALL gentiles to do. Calvinism isn’t special. Christian Nationalism isn’t new. Gentiles have always been arrogant, and that’s the core issue for Paul. You deny the everlasting covenant, you are arrogant, period. You call the gentile church Israel, you have estranged yourself from “the faith” you are supposed to become obedient to.

The apostles had no TULIP. They had the Rose of Sharon: the everlasting covenant of the Creator, which He will never forsake, and which the Messiah will fulfill when He comes again.

[Ryan Saavedra @RyanSaavedra]

🚨 Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage by Hamas for 500+ days, talks at TPUSA's AmFest about how being held in isolation by terrorists ignited his faith in God and he learned to thank God for everything he had during his captivity

[The Emmaus Wire @EmmausWire]

A member of Rabbi Eli Schlanger's congregation speaks out in the wake of his murder at Bondi Beach.

Gentile Christian parents will need this kind of courage in the days ahead if they intend to remain faithful to the covenant tree into which they are grafted.

[The Emmaus Wire @EmmausWire]

Survived the Holocaust.
Survived Siberia.
Married for 57 years.
Children and grandchildren.
Laid down his life for his wife.

[Stephen Holmes @SHolmes66305]

As a Gentile who has chosen to believe in the oracles entrusted to the Jews (Romans 3:2), I have spent many years studying two key questions in Scripture:

1.What was already established that we Gentiles were grafted into? (Romans 11:17)

2.What does it truly mean that Jesus will fulfill every stroke and letter of the Law and the Prophets? (Matthew 5:17–18)

These two questions ought to shape a Gentile’s thinking when he hears the gospel, receives the gospel, and believes the gospel—so that we understand what we are actually believing in, and what we are believing for.

When these questions are answered, contextually, they anchor the disciple in the hope of the “restoration of all things” spoken of in Acts 3. They reveal the continuity of God’s story, the reliability of His promises, and the certainty that the same God who began His redemptive work in Israel will bring it to completion for redemption of the whole earth. This hope steadies the disciple, clarifies the gospel, and strengthens our confidence in the radical story God is still bringing to fulfillment through His Son Yeshua.

[Seth Dillon @SethDillon]

Yes, the rising tide of hatred is a real and serious problem — but it's cowardice that allows it to spread.

This is my message to Christian leaders:

[Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 @JewsFightBack]

Rabbi @AmmiHirsch sat down with Zohran Mamdani.
He came with an open mind.
He left with a pit in his stomach.

Zohran made it crystal clear:
He doesn’t believe Israel has any right to exist.
Not within the ‘67 lines.
Not within the ‘48 borders.
Not at all.

That’s not “policy disagreement.”
That’s Hamas with better PR.
That’s the ideology behind October 7th.
And now it’s running New York City.

[Eylon Levy @EylonALevy]

Wild: The grandson of the Dutch Nazi collaborator who signed the November 1940 order expelling all Jewish civil servants is the artistic director who cancelled the Amsterdam Jewish community’s Chanukah concert.

[Dan Burmawi @DanBurmawy]

In 2008, after leaving Islam, I tried to contact a church in my hometown, Amman, Jordan.

The first church I reached out to was the Greek Orthodox Church in Abdali, the very same institution under Archbishop Hanna’s jurisdiction.

One hour before I arrived, Jordanian intelligence warned me not to approach any church. But I went anyway, longing to meet brothers and sisters in Christ, to feel that I was finally home. Instead, the priest publicly expelled me. He had been ordered by authorities not to welcome converts.

That was my first encounter with the fearful, state-controlled Christianity that the Archbishop represents, a Christianity that bends its knees to tyranny instead of to Christ.

The Archbishop began his letter saying, “You will visit the Church of the Resurrection tomorrow and you will see doors open.”

But he failed to tell you that those doors are closed almost everywhere across the Islamic world, except in Israel.

It is precisely because of Israel that Christians still have open churches, protected shrines, and access to the holy places of our faith, it is good to think of Aya Sophia as you read his letter.

Full Letter below.

[The Emmaus Wire @EmmausWire]

We're getting a better picture of the heinous atrocities in Sudan over the last week.

Zero condemnation from the UN.

But there is One who sees and hears all, and He loves the people of Sudan. Let's continue to lift up that devastated nation to Him.

[Mazelit Airaksinen 🎗🇺🇸 🇮🇱 @Mazelit_]

On October 7th, the Idan family of the Nahal Oz Kibbutz lost their daughter Maayan, 18. Then, Hamas kidnapped her father Tsachi to Gaza and killed him too.

🕯️Tsachi Idan, 49

This is the last image of Tsachi, seen in the foreground holding his son, wife and daughter.

Moments before, his 18-year-old daughter, Maayan was shot by terrorists and died in his arms.

Someone took his wife Gali’s phone and livestreamed the horrors from her Facebook page to all her friends, warning neighbors what would soon await them.

In the footage, the family was huddled on the kitchen floor.

They are covered in Maayan's blood. Meanwhile, Tschai's younger kids are heard asking "are they killing us? are they killing us" in Hebrew.

Tschai's hands were then cuffed behind his back, in one of the most well-documented abductions in his kibbutz.

The children were overheard begging the Palestinians not to take their dad, not to kill him.

"I love you, don't be a hero, be smart. Take care of yourself, and come back to me in one piece.” Gali screamed as the drag Tsachi away.

Tsachi was later murdered in captivity.

Pure evil is bred and cultivated in Gaza by design, and we must figure out what needs to be done so we can live in peace 🎗️

[AG @AGHamilton29]

“Simplistic genocide claims fuel propaganda”

Just incredible. Frame it.

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

In the past 96 hours, Hamas has executed over 100 Palestinians in Gaza.

Mehdi Hasan? Not a word.

Ana Kasparian? Not a word.

Cenk Uygur? Not a word.

The media? Not a word.

The UN? Not a word.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

From my latest newsletter:

"More importantly, the supposed genocide never happened — not because Israel lacked the firepower or capacity, but because it was never on the table in the first place. As much as the evangelical influencers who insisted otherwise wanted to emerge from this war as prophets and truth-tellers, I hope we see them for what they really are: wrong. And reckless. And in many cases, seduced by antisemitic tropes that villainized the Jewish people."

[Noa Argamani @ArgamaniNoa]

Two years. Two years passed since the last moment I saw Avinatan, the love of my life. Two years since the moment terrorists kidnapped us, put me on a motorcycle, and tore me away from Avinatan before the eyes of the entire world.

From that moment, our journey in captivity was separated. I was held captive with children, women, and the elderly, while Avinatan was held alone. I was mostly kept inside houses, while Avinatan was only in the tunnels. Hamas released videos and signs of life from me, while there was no information at all about Avinatan. I was held captive by Hamas for 246 days, while Avinatan was held for 738 days. I came back in a heroic rescue operation, and Avinatan returned in a deal.

But both of us, against all odds, came home and were reunited!

I cannot put into words the range of emotions I felt when I saw him for the first time after so long. Each of us faced death countless times, and yet, after two years apart, we are finally taking our first steps together again in the State of Israel.

At last, we can begin our healing together. The recovery will be long; we still haven’t truly processed what has happened here over these past two years. But we won. We won our personal war, and the war of all those who fought alongside us to reach this moment. And now, the time has come to begin our shared journey together.

I want to say a huge thank you, first and foremost, to the @IDF soldiers and security forces who have been fighting for so long and risk their lives for us every single day. Thank you to our family, friends, and to the people of Israel, Am
Yisrael, who raised their voices when we couldn’t speak. To the people around the world who embraced us, to all the incredible individuals who supported us through the hardest times and never lost hope throughout this long period. To the US government, which opened its doors to me and was always there to listen, especially @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff, @jaredkushner, and the exceptional, President @realDonaldTrump.

To all the people who too stood beside our hostages and understood that light must overcome darkness.

We will never forget the fallen and the murdered, and we will not stop fighting until every fallen soldier and hostage is brought home for a proper burial in Israel.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This could never have happened without you.

We are back ❤️

[Lishay Miran-Lavi @LishayLM]

We are a family again.
שוב ביחד 💛

[Melissa Chen @MsMelChen]

It’s hard to capture the pure joy and jubilation on the streets of Tel Aviv tonight.

We were having a late al fresco dinner when throngs of people would come by at regular intervals, singing and chanting merrily.

They carried Torah scrolls like they were Stanley Cup trophies, hoisting them into the air and dancing around it. They have many reasons to celebrate today.

The hostages are home, war is over, and it’s Simchat Torah - the happiest day of the Jewish holiday season where they celebrate and honor God’s Word.

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

Segev Kalfon receives a rock star's welcome at the hospital; the crowd exploding into cheers at the sight of his face.

Welcome back, Segev. We've been waiting.

[Vivid.🇮🇱 @VividProwess]

WOW!!! The mother of Matan Zangauker, who was held hostage by Hamas for 738 days, finally reunites with her son.

This is beautiful to see. 🙏💙🇮🇱

[ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry @oneforisrael]

After two years, all living hostages have been freed from Hamas captivity!
Welcome home!