Diaspora
The word diaspora (διασπορά) occurs 13 times in the Greek Bible. Does diaspora ever refer to Gentile Christians or does it always refer to Jews and or Jewish Christians?
Dodson:
διασπορά dispersion lit: scattering abroad of seed by the sower, hence: dispersion, used especially of the Jews who had migrated and were scattered over the ancient world.
Thayer:
1) a scattering, dispersion
1a) of Israelites dispersed among foreign nations
1b) of the Christians scattered abroad among the Gentiles
In the Greek version of the Bible from the Genesis through the Revelation, diaspora occurs 13 times. Ancient Greek σπορά (sporá) means seed or sowing. δια (dia) means through. It was the seed of the woman who was prophesied in Genesis 3. He was to be born in the land in the partially regathered from diaspora tribe of Judah. That is why all God’s chosen people came to be known as Judaeans or Jews for short. For the spiritual reformation of the Jews the seed of the woman (Jesus) took the place of Adam on the cross. After the resurrection and ascension, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to reform God’s chosen people from all 12 tribes. Some years after the Holy Spirit arrived in Jerusalem, a diaspora of the Holy Spirit born Jews occurred. After the stoning of Stephen, it was the faithful Jews who were scattered from the land, but this was certainly not the final diaspora. The last old covenant diaspora was in AD 70. The first occurrence of the word diaspora is found among the curses promised by Moses as a result of disobeying God’s laws. The crucifixion of Jesus and the stoning of Stephen were both in disobedience to the law of Moses, not to mention the rest of the martyrs Jerusalem would be held accountable for according to Moses.
The first occurrence of the Greek word diaspora:
1. Deuteronomy 28:25
Brenton Septuagint 25 The Lord give thee up for slaughter before thine enemies: thou shalt go out against them one way, and flee from their face seven ways; and thou shalt be a dispersion in all the kingdoms of the earth.
The second occurrence of the word diaspora is attached to a promise to regather the 12 tribes back into the land of the fathers, if they repent and obey. This has never typically happened. The tribe of Judah was allowed to reenter after God made up for their missed sabbaticals. Unification into one 12-tribed body started on Pentecost by way of a Holy Spirit rebirth, which was not a typical resurrection in the flesh. A flesh body resurrection was promised to the 12 tribes if they repented in the flesh. The promise of a partial return after 70 makeup years was by grace. The Jews on Pentecost repented in the Holy Spirit covenant not the flesh and blood covenant. Old covenant Jews did not repent. They held fast to their works until AD 70. Though the tribes had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate their birth as a nation, Pentecost was a new covenant fulfillment, not a flesh and blood reformation back into the types of their fathers.
After Peter addressed all Israel, 3000 Jews were cut to the heart. They repented for killing their Messiah. The joined the reformation. The curses the Jews had called upon themselves for illegally condemning their Messiah to death can never be outdone, but their guilt for breaking the law of Moses did increase unto the full number of Jewish martyrs, who were about to be killed – Revelation 6:9-11. The typical old covenant Jews did not repent. Their guilt increased all the way to the end. Jesus considers His people as part of His own body – Acts 9:4-5.
The Jews who repented did not perish with their old covenant. The ones who did perish under law actually called for the curses of Deuteronomy 28 to be on themselves and their children – Matthew 27:25-26. It was the fault of the people that required a new covenant. The old covenant was Holy and right and true, but the people couldn’t be right without the Holy Spirit gift of the new covenant – Hebrews 8:7-8. They were not typically gathered back into the promised land of their fathers because they did not typically repent for illegally killing Jesus and His followers – Deuteronomy 30:1-3. The tribe of Judah reentered the land so the seed of the woman could be born, not so all the tribes in diaspora could join them. Jesus both divided and unified them, just as He said He would.
2.Deuteronomy 30:4
Thomson 4 Though thy dispersion may have been from one end of the earth to the other, thence the Lord thy God will gather thee,
3. Nehemiah 1:9
Thomson 9 if you then return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersion may be to the farthest part of heaven, thence I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen for my name to dwell there.
4. Psalms 147:2
Thomson 2 The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem; and he will gather the dispersions of Israel.
5. Isaiah 49:6
Thomson 6 Moreover he said to me, Is it a great thing for thee to be called my servant to reestablish the tribes of Jacob and bring back the dispersion of Israel? Behold I have given thee for the covenant of a race; for the light of nations; that thou mayst be for salvation to the farthest part of the earth.
6. Jeremiah 15:7
Thomson 7 but utterly disperse them. In the gates of My people they are bereaved of children; My people are destroyed because of their wickedness.
7. Jeremiah 34:17
Brenton 17 (41:17) Therefore thus said the Lord; Ye have not hearkened to me, to proclaim a release every one to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a release to you, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you up to dispersion among all the kingdoms of the earth.
8. John 7:35
LITV 35 Then the Jews said amongst themselves, Where is this one about to go that we will not find him? Is he about to go to the Dispersion of the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?
The Dispersion refers to those members of Israel who are still scattered around the world due to conquest and persecution. The term “The Greeks,” as used here, was more or less equivalent to all non-Jews—i.e. Gentiles. The crowd is wondering if Jesus means He’ll be taking His message away from Jerusalem. If so, then the religious leaders would have no real need to execute Jesus. If He goes so far away that He cannot be found, their concerns are moot. Copied from Bibleref.com
9. James 1:1
LITV 1 James [Yacobus], a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion, greeting:
10. 1 Peter 1:1
LITV 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect sojourners of the dispersion of Pontus, of Galatia, of Cappadocia, of Asia, and of Bithynia,
11. Acts 8:1
CLV 1 Yet Saul was endorsing his assassination. Now in that day there came to be a great persecution of the ecclesia which is in Jerusalem, and they were all dispersed among the districts of Judea and Samaria, save the apostles.”
12. Acts 8:4
CLV 4 Those indeed, then, who are dispersed, passed through, evangelizing with the word.”
13. Acts 11:19
CLV 19 Those indeed, then, who are dispersed from the affliction which is occurring over Stephen, passed through as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only.”
After the spiritual rebirth of the nation on Pentecost, James, Peter and Acts use diaspora to refer to Jewish Christ followers, i.e., the faithful Jews. The unfaithful Jews were stuck on the old covenant. They were the ones causing the diaspora of the saints. The blessed Jews were now called the diaspora Jews. Jesus took their old covenant curses on the cross. Leaving the land was no longer a curse. Those who remained in Jerusalem to the end would face the final old covenant diaspora, which wasn’t a typical diaspora either. The last one was permanent. Jesus told the Jew in the land to be born again or perish. There is no future reformation or resurrection back into the land after perishing. Are the self proclaimed antichrists returning to the land in order to live to a certain age? Are Jews being born again to keep the law in the flesh? Nicodemus wasn’t antichrist. Israelis today who believe that Jesus is the Christ are not even considered Jews by the chief rabbi nor the Israeli government. This is exactly opposite of Biblical truth – Romans 2:28-29.
John 3:9-15
YLT 9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, `How are these things able to happen?’ 10 Jesus answered and said to him, `Thou art the teacher of Israel—and these things thou dost not know! 11 `Verily, verily, I say to thee—What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive; 12 if the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe? 13 and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down—the Son of Man who is in the heaven. 14 `And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up, 15 that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,
John 5:39-47
YLT(i) 39 `Ye search the Writings, because ye think in them to have life age-during, and these are they that are testifying concerning me; 40 and ye do not will to come unto me, that ye may have life; 41 glory from man I do not receive, 42 but I have known you, that the love of God ye have not in yourselves. 43 `I have come in the name of my Father, and ye do not receive me; if another may come in his own name, him ye will receive; 44 how are ye able—ye—to believe, glory from one another receiving, and the glory that is from God alone ye seek not? 45 `Do not think that I will accuse you unto the Father; there is who is accusing you, Moses—in whom ye have hoped; 46 for if ye were believing Moses, ye would have been believing me, for he wrote concerning me; 47 but if his writings ye believe not, how shall ye believe my sayings?’
Anyone who claims Moses and not Jesus is a pretender according to Jesus.
Galatians 3:19-29
YLT 19 Why, then, the law? on account of the transgressions it was added, till the seed might come to which the promise hath been made, having been set in order through messengers in the hand of a mediator— 20 and the mediator is not of one, and God is one— 21 the law, then, is against the promises of God? —let it not be! for if a law was given that was able to make alive, truly by law there would have been the righteousness, 22 but the Writing did shut up the whole under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to those believing. 23 And before the coming of the faith, under law we were being kept, shut up to the faith about to be revealed, 24 so that the law became our child-conductor—to Christ, that by faith we may be declared righteous, 25 and the faith having come, no more under a child-conductor are we, 26 for ye are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for as many as to Christ were baptized did put on Christ; 28 there is not here Jew or Greek, there is not here servant nor freeman, there is not here male and female, for all ye are one in Christ Jesus; 29 and if ye are of Christ then of Abraham ye are seed, and according to promise—heirs.