Sunday, 21 June 2015

Paul within Judaism: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle,
ed. Mark D Nanos, Magnus Zetterholm, Fortress Press, 2015, page 168

Johnson Hodge goes on:

In Paul's view, G-d's larger plan requires gentiles to worship the G-d of Israel as gentiles, not as proselytes or something else. Paul allies himself here with the Jewish eschatalogical expectation that G-d will establish his kingdom for Israel and for favoured nations.

This is a clear identity statement.

As the apostle to the gentiles, he sees himself in the tradition of the prophets who call gentiles to Jerusalem on the Day of the L-rd, when "all the nations shall stream to the L-rd's house" (Isa 2:2). This eschatalogical pilgrimage tradition - both in Paul and in earlier Jewish literature - envisions gentiles turning to G-d as non-Jews, not as proselytes.