A Tale of Two Israels
Over the years of teaching the book of Romans I've marveled at the massive failure of much of the body of Christ, and especially her theologians, to understand the Bible's two Israels. Did you know the Bible talks of two very different Israels? The Dispensationalists only see one Israel, but Paul clearly saw two Israels, and one of them was the true spiritual Israel and the other was simply a natural Israel with genetic connections to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and further back to Adam and Eve. The second one was inextricably connected to the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses and the Temple system, all of which were concluded with the resurrection of Christ and inauguration of the New Covenant.
If you fail to clearly see the two very different Israels then you will make the mistakes that folks like Hal Lindsey, or Tim LaHaye, or numerous other modern classic Dispensationalists make. But, once you see the two Israels and know which one is the abiding one then you will forever stop looking to the newspaper for the timing of Christ's return or the rapture.
I'm not saying He isn't going to return physically or that there won't be a rapture, or even that it couldn't be soon, but you won't continue trying to time it to the news and you will be able to settle down and focus your life on bringing Christ to the lost while improving the world we all live in. You will do this rather than rejoicing over an ever declining world and Church while clinging to a hope that it means the rapture is just around the corner and you may soon get to get out of here and to the heaven you'd prefer to be living in.
Having said that, if you've lived with the vision of soon getting out of here on the rapture plane, and that appeals to you more than reaching the lost and expanding His Kingdom, you may not want to read any more of this article, but if you've always sensed that the approach to end times you've been spoon fed by the Dispensationalists wasn't congruent with something in your spirit then read on. It may begin you down the path of clarity in these matters and a whole new sense of purpose for your life.
Now, a word to bring expectation clarification...I'm not going to debunk the whole of Dispensationalism in this article, but I will at least lay a foundation for that to begin.
Ok, here we go...
We note the I Corinthians 15 principle here -
1Co 15:46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.
As Paul describes the principle of a natural body and later a spiritual body it is evident in this passage that he is discussing far more than just the evolution of our bodies. The entire bible is setup under this principle - first a natural body then a spiritual body, first a natural people then a spiritual people, first a natural temple then a spiritual temple, first an earthly covenant then a new spiritual covenant. If we fail to see this principle we will draw wrong conclusions about God's purposes and plans under the new covenant.
Let's first look at the genetic connection. Think as non emotionally as you can for a moment...who is Abraham and who is Jacob genetically? The answer is sooo simple but if you think too emotionally you will draw an overly religious answer like "They are God's chosen people, a holy people, the people after God's own heart, a special people selected out of all the world, the parents of Jesus after the flesh, etc., etc." The problem with these overly religious responses is that they are both right and yet also wrong in the sense that they can blind you to their most basic identities.
Abraham and Jacob are human beings, whose physical lineage is tied directly to Adam and Eve, just like the rest of us. They are "people," "humans," and they are "Gentiles," not Jews. Do you see this? All people are people, humans, and Gentiles genetically because we all come from Adam and Eve. Jews or natural Israelites are simply subsets of our common human lineage. Don't miss this point. If you miss this point you will fail to see the two Israel's and which of them are the "true" abiding Israel.
Now, it is very true that God took ahold of the lineage of Abraham and Jacob and separated out a people who came to be known as the nation of Israel, for the purposes of revealing His redemptive plans and purposes in a microcosmic sort of way. They were singled out to be used as a focused subset of all humanity like an organism in a petri dish is separated out to study its special properties and dynamics. They were an example nation...an example of what God saw all mankind as needing and an example of what He wanted to do redemptively with all nations. But, if we fail to see that they are nothing more than a subset of the broader human population we will miss God's purposes for them and for the rest of humanity, and end up making of them something that they are not.
Jews are not saved just because they are Jews. Jews are not to be given a pass politically, economically, financially, or militarily just because they are Jews. Jews as individuals and as a nation, in an unbelieving state of heart, are still exactly what Jesus referred to them as in Matthew 12
Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." 39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
We must not confer to natural Israel things that don't belong to them. We must define them as Jesus does, otherwise we close our eyes to the possibility of them doing things that are inappropriate among the nations and worthy of censure just because we believe them to somehow be under God's special favor and blessing. I'm not saying that I believe they are necessarily doing anything currently that is inappropriate as a nation, in a political sense...I'm not enough of a politician or diplomat to know whether they are or they aren't. I'm simply saying that as Christians we must look non emotionally at them and hold them accountable to international propriety just like we would any other nation.
So, let's come back to Paul's discussion of the two Israels and now take a look at the true Israel. National Israel is like one tree in the midst of a giant forest of trees. They are not the "only" tree, or the "best" tree, or the "purest" tree in the forest. They are just one tree in the midst of many trees. The Old Testament focuses on them for one primary reason...to single out one tree to be looked at closely, as a subset of all trees, so as to provide God with a focused location of His worldwide redemptive plans and purposes. You can look at what God says to natural Israel and see His desires for all mankind. You can see how He describes their positives and negatives and apply His evaluations of them to all mankind. You can see His redemptive work among that one nation and understand His desire for the salvation of all nations. In a word...they are an example nation, nothing more and nothing less. This is why, when they rejected their Messiah, Jesus indicated God's purposes for them as an example nation were forever finished and He would give all of His attention to the broader Israel from AD 70 onwards. We'll see this as we progress in our study. The age of the New Covenant would signal His conclusion to His redemptive plans for a single nation in favor of His redemptive plan for all nations and for spiritual Israel, the true Israel, the Israel of God, the Church, the House of Israel, the House of Judah, and the Bride of Christ...all equal synonyms.
Let's take a look at Paul's two Israels in the book of Romans. We will begin with Romans two, because it is here that he begins to unfold his "two Israels" concept. We will quote the entire chapter and take it apart verse by verse to reveal these two Israels:
Rom 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
Who is the "O man" in Paul's argument? It is his literary way of describing Natural Israel, the offspring of Abraham and Jacob, Israel after the flesh. They judge Gentiles and all Gentile nations by whether they are favored or not favored based on whether they have genetic connections to Abraham and Jacob or not. Because Gentiles don't the Jews considered them as less significant to God. But, they are incorrect and Paul exposes their error. They believe they have a special status with God just because they are natural Israel, but they are wrong and so are modern Dispensationalists who think they do. They are neither better nor worse just because they have a natural lineage to Abraham and Jacob. Their sins aren't any more acceptable than the sins of all other nations. Be sure to note this...it is exceedingly important if you are to get free of your unbiblical favoritism to natural Israel.
Rom 2:2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
All people are judged for their sins, and Jews are not less judged just because they are Jews.
Rom 2:3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
Once again, the "O man" is natural Israel, and they are being told they will suffer the same punishment for their sins as any other nation. If you look at the sinful behavior of much of America you will find Israel mimics us perfectly. As America is not a holy nation any longer neither is Israel. Both nations are on a collision course with the judgment of God and Israel being connected to Abraham is not going to make them more blessed or less punished than any other nation. And, nations that are going to be blessed or not have nothing to do with how they treat modern Israel, and have everything to do with how they treat the true Israel of God, those who walk in the same righteous faith as Abraham...the Church.
Rom 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
They too are in need of repentance, apart from which they are not saved, and they are not right with God, they are not favored by God, they are not given special nation status with God, they are under the wrath of God just like anyone else who rejects the salvation that is in Christ alone.
Rom 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
Do you see it? Is this not perfectly clear as to how God looks at natural Israel today? How could you not see this? To listen to modern Dispensational teachers you'd think they walk in league with the angels of God. They don't. They are...right this minute, despite their being back in their land, under the wrath of God.
Rom 2:6 He will render to each one according to his works:
Rom 2:7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
Rom 2:8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
This is Paul's way of saying, "if you choose to approach salvation on the basis of works, then whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, you are in real trouble, because you can't be saved just because you are a Jew and you can't be saved by defining other people's sins as being worse than your own, and you can't be saved by defining a set of do's and don't's that you think make you acceptable with God. The only "well doing, and seeking for glory and honor and immortality" in Paul's theology, which he will unfold in the book of Romans, is to repent of your sin and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing short of this holds any weight with God, whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. Everyone else remains under the wrath of God, and currently the nation of Israel, as a nation, is unrepentant.
Rom 2:9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
This is a very interesting statement...He is saying that God holds the Jews even more responsible than the rest of mankind, and they deserve the first of His judgments because to them were given the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph), to them were given the Covenants, and to them were given the Laws of Moses. Such things make them even more accountable to God than all nations. In the face of their rejection of God these historical elements will even more severely judge them, not give them special favored nation status.
Rom 2:10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
Paul will tell us that the only "good" a person can do is to repent and receive the work of the cross on his behalf. And, when a Jew comes to Christ, because of the historical elements of PaCL (Patriarchs, Covenants, and Laws) they are uniquely and mysteriously blessed of God in a special way known only to God. They get a special measure of his glory, honor, and peace...whatever that ends up looking like.
Rom 2:11 For God shows no partiality.
Do you see this??? Have you missed this in your Dispensational determination to favor natural Israel? No nation gets special nation status with God after the cross. Everything depends on faith in Christ. This means Israel is no more favored than even their enemy neighbors, as far as deserving salvation blessings. Other nations may be more deserving of international political censure than Israel right now, but they aren't less loved by God than Israel.
Now, let me detour for a moment...As we will see in Romans an amazing revival is going to take place in their nation one day, and it is very likely that God does provide special protection for them as their time of revival tarries. In this regard, it would be very foolish of any nation to attack Israel without just cause.
Rom 2:12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
This is Paul's designation of all humanity into two groupings - Jews and Gentiles, and all get the same treatment.
Rom 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
Paul, in Romans, will clearly describe the "doers of the Law" as those who let the Law do its work of conviction towards bringing a human being to repentance and faith in Christ...this is what a "doer of the Law" is.
Rom 2:14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
Now here is Paul's first reference to Gentiles as potentially being the True Israel of God. They are grafted into the Israel principle and become the real Israel, while natural Israelites are nothing more than biologically connected human beings to Abraham and Jacob. Gentiles are treated just as if they had been given the Law, the Covenants, and the blessings of God, i.e. they become a holy spiritual nation unto the Lord from every nation on earth.
Rom 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Salvation is a matter of the heart and when God looks into the hearts of Gentiles who have received Christ He sees true Israelites because in Paul's theology there is and always has been and ever will be only one covenant people and they are referred to as The True Israel of God. We don't see this clearly spelled out here yet, but as Paul develops his theology in Romans it will get clearer and clearer that this is what he is saying here early in his book. Try to keep an open mind...this will become clear. This true Israel has always been and always will be comprised of people from every people, tongue, tribe, and nation.
Rom 2:16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
That "day" is the final day of judgment, and it is clear that the "only" ones who received special favored status are those who have believed in Jesus Christ.
Rom 2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God
Rom 2:18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;
Rom 2:19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
Rom 2:20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—
Rom 2:21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
Rom 2:22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Rom 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.
Rom 2:24 For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."
Can you see this? He is saying, "look, if you think you have special favor with God just because you are a Jew, just because Abraham is your father, just because of PaCL, you are wrong. You have done more damage to the image of God among the nations than any other people because you have been given so much from God and rejected and still do reject Jesus as your Messiah and as such it opens you to hypocrisy and evil that offends Gentiles and inclines them to reject the things of God as you do. If you visit Israel you will see verses 21-23 throughout their country. Am I saying this defines all Israelis? Of course not! Many are lovers of Christ and walking intimately with Him.
Rom 2:25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.
This is HUGE. Do you see this? This is the beginnings of Paul describing two circumcisions...one that is purely natural and doesn't account for anything special in and of itself, and one that is spiritual and makes all the difference in the world. One is lump of tissue the other is a purified heart. Paul is describing here the two Israels...those who are circumcised in the flesh only and have Abraham as their genetic lineage, and those who are circumcised in their hearts and have Abraham's faith and righteousness. Abraham wasn't a Jew. He was a Gentile in the midst of a world in which no Jews even existed yet. In his day there were only Gentiles. Jews didn't exist until his son Jacob had twelve sons, who came to be known as Israel, and one of those 12 sons was Judah, from which the term Jew is derived hundreds of years after Jacob's son Judah died, and, after the Babylonian captivity. It came to be the designation for the entire nation of Israel when they returned to the land of Palestine. So, Abraham wasn't an Israelite. He wasn't a Jew. But he was a man of faith in Christ, as Christ came to him and revealed Himself to him, and he believed in Him for salvation.
Rom 2:26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
Paul is clearly saying, "If a Gentile allows his heart to be circumcised in faith towards Christ, won't he be considered a true Israelite? Won't he become the Israel of God? Won't he be far more an Israelite than any natural Jew?" The answer is obviously "Yes". Isn't this what he is saying? Please stop and let this settle in for a moment because this is a very large statement and one that surely caused him no small amount of grief from the natural Jews of his day. This is one of the lynch pin doctrines of Paul's whole theology. This should tell you definitively how to think about modern Israel.
Rom 2:27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.
As believers we are called to condemn the modern unbelieving Jew. I'm not saying we shouldn't recognize the nation of Israel as a valuable democratic ally in the Middle East...we should, but it is a very different thing to consider them as a valued ally, offer military and economic supports, compared with conferring to them spiritual status as a most favored nation to God. This we have no biblical precedent for after the cross and especially after 70 AD. The natural Jew is an enemy of God, not a most favored human being, until he receives Christ as his Lord and Savior. Those who receive Christ are those whom we are to bless according to Genesis 12...those who are to be blessed as Abraham's offspring are those who align with his righteous faith in Christ. We "MUST" condemn the modern Jew, hold their motives as highly suspect, watch them like a hawk, because with their hearts being far from God they are capable of any sin that any other human can do against God, just as any American can do. To imply they are the "blessed of God," as if they are under His smiling countenance couldn't be further from the truth. They are not! They are in very serious trouble with God and can only come out from under His current judgment when they turn to Christ. If we say anything other than this then we call God and His servant Paul a liar. Am I in favor of antisemitism? Absolutely not! Just the opposite. I long for them to be saved, not destroyed. It is not antisemitic to spiritually condemn them. It honors God to do so.
Rom 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.
Do you see this? Do you believe this? Or, do you think Paul is wrong??? Of course he is correct! Gentiles become the true Israel, the true Jew, when they let Christ circumcise their hearts by faith in Him.
Rom 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. (and based on what Paul is saying "not by physical lineage). His praise is not from man but from God.
Note also:
Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Gal 3:9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."
Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."
Gal 3:12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them."
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"—
Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Gal 3:15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.
Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ.
Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
Gal 3:20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Gal 3:23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
Gal 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
Gal 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
There you have it. We Gentiles, just like Abraham, become a part of God's true covenant nation of Israel, Jews after the Spirit, spiritual Israelites and Jews, the real Israel of God. If you miss this here then you will inevitably continue to buy into Dispensationalism and all its attendant errors of Israel favoritism.
Now, having seen these things clearly revealed by Paul in Romans two and Galatians 3 , we are ready to watch him develop this even further in Romans.
Why is it important to discern these two Israels in scripture? Because, the modern Church is sooo captivated by an inaccurate theology regarding Israel that they maintain the United States' potential of receiving divine protection and blessing is largely based on its treatment of natural Israel. They base this on a verse in Genesis 12, and this interpretation COMPLETELY misses the meaning of Genesis 12. (I'm not suggesting we shouldn't treat natural Israel as a favored ally, as long as they act uprightly in political ways, but this is not the same as saying they are currently favored by God.)
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Notice "all the families of the earth." Who do you think the"you" is that he is referring to? Primarily the Jews? Not at all. Who is the "you" in the phrase "I will bless those who bless you"? In context the "you" is all people of all the families of the earth who walk in the exact same faith in Christ that Abraham did, and nothing else can be meant by God's statement, otherwise you indirectly declare yourself to be a Universalist and must believe that God will eventually save every human being out of Hell.
The Dispensationalists would apply verse 3 to all future generations of nations who are kind to Jews. Who is Abraham most essentially? Just a pre-Jew, out of whose loins will come the Jewish nation? Absolutely not...he is much more than that. He is the first man of the holy nation to come...a nation that considers Jesus Christ as their Lord and King, and who have expressed the same faith in Him that Abraham did, and because Abraham was a Gentile when this was said he is the first man of all nations to form a brand new holy nation upon the earth that will eventually include people from every family and nation on earth.
If these verses should be applied to all generations and all nations, and if these verses mean that every nation and individual has a divine obligation to confer upon Israel "Most Favored Nation" status, then what do we do with Jesus' words in Matthew 12?
Mat 12:39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Mat 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Mat 12:42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
or -
Mat 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
or -
Mat 23:29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
Mat 23:31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
Mat 23:34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
Mat 23:35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Mat 23:38 See, your house is left to you desolate.
Mat 23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Please note vs 38 "your house is left to you desolate." What does "left" mean if it doesn't mean once and for all, final, over, done? He's not just speaking to a specific group of Pharisees with no view to the nation's future. He gathers the entire nation and its future into the word "house," which is short for "the house of Israel." He is saying The House of Israel, as a natural people and nation will forever be left desolate, over, done. Those who claim 1948 as a regathering of God's chosen people-Israel into her land fail to comprehend the implications of Jesus' words here and ultimately make Him a liar, as if He hadn't said what He said here. There is no indication in His words that the nation "house" would ever again be picked up, dusted off, and made a "most spiritually favored nation" again. We will consider some "possible" reasons why God may have been directly involved in the 1948 regathering, but it isn't going to be as the Dispensationalists describe it, as some sort of fulfillment of Ezekiel 37. If you read Ezekiel's prophecy he describes Israel as being in a state of strong spiritual revival at the time of this return and that was certainly not the case in 1948 nor is it today.
And again -
Mat 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
The nation, symbolized in the temple, would be completely torn down. We know this came to pass in 70 AD, when Roman emperor Titus ravaged Israel. This event fulfilled Jesus' words of promise that Israel would never again be the focal point of His work with nations. They may become a holy nation once again, by massive revival and faith in Christ, but not just because they are Jews.
And the writer of Hebrews, applies all these concepts to the ending of the Mosaic Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant for the True Israel of God, comprised of Jews and Gentiles -
Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."
Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Who is the writer writing to? Jewish believers who are struggling with returning to an old covenant approach to life, which dishonors the work of Christ. Notice all the things that are true of all believers today are said to refer to "the house of Israel and the house of Judah." If we Gentile believers are not included in these references then you would have to believe we are outside of the blessings of the New Covenant and the New Covenant just applies to Jewish believers. No respectable theologian that I've ever heard believes such a thing, so if this is the case then Gentiles are referenced here, under the New Covenant as the True House of Israel, the True house of Judah. All believers - Jew or Gentile - under the new covenant are both Israel and Judah, and therefore there can be no reference here to the natural nation of Israel that, to this day, reject their Messiah, and in our day have done so since 1948 to this time. I'm not saying we shouldn't concentrate evangelist efforts in natural Israel on leading the Jewish people to faith. I'm not saying the US should reject Israel. I'm not saying they don't still retain some recognition from the Lord due to the principles of PaCL, but we must not allow ourselves to believe they are still a covenant nation. They aren't. They have forever lost that status. They gave that up when they rejected and crucified their Messiah. Now the whole world encompasses the House of Israel and Judah as people of all races come to faith in Christ.
Now, let's continue with seeing the two Israel's in Paul's Romans.
Rom 3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?
In a wonderful and amazing way Paul still places special distinction upon even unbelieving Israel based on the principles of PaCL. How this is applied by God is a mystery that is not fully explained in Scripture. I know, when I meet a Jewish person, I feel a strange connection to the principles of PaCL and because of it I'm strangely drawn to Jewish people, but I don't allow this to cloud my judgment of their greatest need...to repent and receive Christ. It doesn't make me give Israel a "Most favored nation" status. It just connects me to God's eternal plans as worked out through this chosen race.
Rom 3:2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Rom 3:3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
Rom 3:4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."
Paul is saying here that even though the natural Jews have been unfaithful to God, given all His historical blessings, He still intends to send a revival among them that will bring millions of Jews to Christ at some point in the future, and will do so because of the PaCL principles. He doesn't say this directly in these verses, but in just a little bit we'll see this is what he means here. God will always be faithful to them, even though they reject Him now, and one day His faithfulness to them will bring about an amazing revival among them.
Now we skip forward to Romans 9 to clearly reveal the two Israels concept we are discussing here -
Rom 9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—
Rom 9:2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
Rom 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Notice Paul's emotional drawing and compassion for Jews because of the PaCL connection. He sees them as "CUT OFF" because they are and wishes he could be cut off if it would help them to be reconnected.
Rom 9:4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.
Rom 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (They have the GCLWPPC)
There it is again. There will always be something very special about Jewish people, but special doesn't mean saved, most favored nation status, or a blind eye turned towards their waywardness. It doesn't mean Old Testament prophecies applied to their return to the land of Palestine in 1948 mean they are currently under God's blessings. (I know some would like me to digress here and address every Old Testament prophecy that Dispensationalists inaccurately interpret towards an overly literal approach to a nation of Israel focus but this exceeds the scope of this study...sorry...)
Rom 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
Here we go. Did you see his words here? Again, this is HUGE! He is saying it has nothing to do with being a Jew that gives you favor with God...and has everything to do with faith in Christ. You MUST not miss the following concepts Paul is describing, because if you miss them you will not see who you really are, who they really are, and what is God's BIG PLAN and DESIGN for time and eternity.
Rom 9:7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
Do remember what I said regarding to Genesis 12? This is why I said it. It is exactly what Paul is saying here. Paul is saying that just because you have a genetic connection to Abraham and Jacob it doesn't make you saved or the real Israel or the children of Abraham. Only when people, Jews or Gentiles, have the same kind of faith that Abraham had as regards Isaac (who is a type of Christ), are they truly the Israel of God that God has always been after, and this is just as much for Gentiles as it is for Jews. Children of Abraham are ONLY those who have the faith of Abraham...all his other offspring are just natural Israelites and account for nothing more special than any other person of any other nation.
Rom 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Believing Gentiles and Jews are the children of God...they are the true offspring of Abraham, thus they are the true Israel. They are the House of Israel, the House of Judah, the Children of God, the Bride of Christ, and the Church of the living God.
Rom 9:9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."
Rom 9:10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
Rom 9:11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—
Rom 9:12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
Rom 9:13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
Rom 9:15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
Rom 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
Rom 9:18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Rom 9:19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"
Rom 9:20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"
Rom 9:21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Rom 9:22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
Rom 9:23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Jews may not like what God has done, and Gentiles may not fully understand what God has done, but it doesn't change what God has done. He has chosen to define true Israel as a composite of both Jews and Gentiles, not just Jews. This is why we no longer look to the land of Israel as the focal point of God's purposes in the earth. The whole earth will be filled with the glory of God. Every nation is included in the House of Israel. The whole earth represents the Israel God is creating, not just a tiny postage stamp area known as modern Israel, a land no larger than the Willamette Valley in the state of Oregon. Now the entire earth is seen as the Israel of God by way of potential as they come to faith in Christ.
I'm not saying God couldn't be doing mysterious things in the nation of Israel, to protect them from hate filled neighbors, because if He intends to bring the greatest revival among the Jews that the Jews have ever experienced it is entirely possible He has chosen to do so with them as a nation in their current locality, and as such could well protect them from neighbors who would destroy or cast them out of the land. This is a very different approach to watching them as a nation than to believe they are back in their land according Old Testament prophecies as a covenant people.
If God desires to showcase a massive national redemption through the greatest revival the world has ever seen this could easily explain why He had a hand in bringing the Jews back to Israel in 1948 and might also explain Jesus' reference to the sign of Jonah in Matthew 12, namely resurrecting Jesus from the grave like He did with Jonah from the fish so as to lead Nineveh in the greatest national revival of ancient history. If the resurrected Jesus has planned to do something like this in modern Israel, with the whole world constantly watching this nation to see if world war three is going to erupt from this region of the world, then this could easily explain why He sent angels in the 6 day war to protect them, why they have been given some of the greatest technological advances in human history, why even though their neighbors hate them they can't destroy them, etc. It is entirely likely that God's protective covering is over them, not because they are still a covenant nation but because of how He will showcase His salvation among them in coming years. I only posit this as a possible explanation for their regathering. I do not believe their regathering is for the reasons the Dispensationalists describe.
Rom 9:24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
There it is. "Us" comprised of Jews and Gentiles. Now, watch as Paul takes verses that every Jew in the Old Testament would have thought could only apply to Jewish people and apply them to both Jews and Gentiles who come to faith in Christ. This is an unprecedented re-interpretation of who Israel really is. Don't miss the following verses... What Paul does here should be applied to every other Old Testament passage that Dispensationalists tend to apply in natural/literal ways to the nation of Israel. Paul's approach sees beyond the natural into the spiritual purposes of God for the whole earth.
Rom 9:25 As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'"
Rom 9:26 "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"
Clearly, in Paul's theology we believers in Christ, Jews and Gentiles who have come to faith, are "His people / true Israel." We are the sons of the living God the truest of true Jews. Listen, consider this...if the Dispensational theology of today had existed in Paul's day we could well imagine that a group of those proponents would have taken Paul aside and soundly rebuked him, telling him that if his approach to Hosea were to catch on as "the" way to understand Old Testament prophecies that "appear" to apply only to natural Israel but actually apply to spiritual Israel, the Israel of God, the Church, then their entire Dispensational framework would be in ruins. Thank God no such thing existed in his day...ha, ha! But if they had, and certainly the Judaisers...the closest we can find to our modern Dispensatinalists...did their best to turn Paul away from the revelation he was getting about the inclusion of Gentiles into the true Israel, but Paul, similar to my resistance, would have none of it and rightly so. We must buy the truth and not sell it!
Truly, if Paul's explanation of Hosea were understood as his declaration of the divine hermeneutic that Jesus had given to him, it would unravel the entire Dispensational approach to Scripture and deliver the body of Christ from an overly wooden, literalistic, and non spiritual approach to the Word of God and especially the prophetic passages. Apply what Paul reveals about Hosea's prophecy to every single overly literalized explanation of Dispensational theology to scores of Old Testament prophecies and you would end up with a far different understanding of the day we live in, what God is doing in the earth, where things are heading, and how to live in our modern world.
Dispensationalism has led to more confusion and disappointment than any other modern theology. Keep in mind, as a formed theology it is only around 100 years old. It didn't exist as an agreed upon approach to scripture anywhere in the early church period so certainly Paul wouldn't have been influenced by it.
Rom 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
Now Paul applies the same hermeneutic to Isaiah's prophecies. We are the "Remnant" out of all nations, not just the nation of Israel. We are the "sons of Israel," the ones God referred to when He called the Gentile Abraham and promised him a redemptive people who are numbered into the billions, as the sand of the seashore and the stars of the heavens. Surely you can agree that this is what Paul is saying? If so it is but a small step to apply his interpretational framework to all the rest of the Old Testament prophecies that appear to apply only to natural Israel as a natural nation.
Rom 9:28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay."
Rom 9:29 And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."
The "Us" is a reference first and foremost to Jewish believers, but also includes all believers, as is clearly seen in the next verse -
Rom 9:30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
It couldn't be clearer...
Rom 9:31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Rom 9:32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
Rom 9:33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
Just having the PaCL/
(the GCLWPPC) heritage doesn't cut it with God. They had it all and that didn't make them truly covenant believers. They were clay vessels that carried the true covenant but the true covenant wasn't applied to the majority of them, nor is it today. Only those who believe avoid "being put to shame."
Now we are ready for Paul's clearest and most fascinating explanations of who the true Israel is and His plan for many within natural Israel -
Rom 11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom 11:2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
Rom 11:3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life."
Rom 11:4 But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
Rom 11:5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
Natural Israel missed it so God ended His direct relationship with them as a nation and has reached out to them as a people and beyond them to all peoples. He hasn't rejected Jewish people and anyone who implies He has is completely wrong. Anyone who is antisemitic couldn't be further off, but any form of racism is completely uncalled for too, not just antisemitism.
The "remnant" Paul references to here appears to most especially refer to natural Jewish people. And, as Paul will tell us in a moment, there will yet be a huge revival among them! We must never forget this or ignore them. This is a clear call to Christians to reach out to the nation of Israel to bring salvation to them.
Rom 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
Natural Israel has been set aside as a nation and will never again be picked up as a special nation, but those of Jewish blood who believe in Christ form a part of the elect along with all Gentile believers, forming the true Israel of God. In all of Paul's theology the Elect are comprised of both Jews and Gentiles who have been chosen by God in eternity past to salvation in Christ. See especially the book of Ephesians for more on his "Elect" theology.
Rom 11:8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day."
Rom 11:9 And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
Rom 11:10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever."
Rom 11:11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
Don't write the Jews off. God is far from done with them as a people. I don't believe His plan encompasses a national entity again, though who knows...God may still plan for this to happen too. But certainly massive revival will one day come to them and for now His turning to the Gentiles is meant to make the Jews jealous for His involvement with them again.
Rom 11:12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Notice the word "inclusion." Do you see how strange that looks? It should look very strange to you. It should be that we Gentiles are included with them, since they were the originals, but no, they are to be included with us, why? Because there is, has been, and forever will be only one Israel that truly matters to God and it is comprised only of those with faith in Christ like Abraham had. They are the true Israel, and Jews have just as much need to become included in the true Israel as any Gentile.
Rom 11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
Rom 11:14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.
Rom 11:15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
It will happen! There will come a great "acceptance" among the Jews, of Jesus Christ, and when it does only God knows what this may mean for the culmination of all things.
Rom 11:16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
One day, there will be just one whole lump, a root system and branch system intertwined to such a degree that there will be no difference between Jews and Gentiles. All will comprise the true House of Israel. We will be one lump. Can you see this? Can you see how Dispensationalism has failed to see this mystical union in Christ of all peoples into one House of Israel? They have, and because of it they are looking for spiritual signs in the natural nation of Israel, and as a result they've missed the whole point. They are scouring the news when they should be scouring the Lord Jesus alone.
Rom 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
Here we see Paul call the "real people of God and the real purpose of God" an olive tree. The Olive tree represents the covenant tree of fruitful blessing, from which the anointing oil of the Spirit of Christ is derived and blesses the world with His great anointing. We Gentiles and the born again Jews are all grafted into the one Olive Tree, the true Israel, the Israel of God, the House of Israel and the House of Judah. These are all parallel concepts with different imageries contained in them.
Rom 11:18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
The root is everything, not the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation was ever and only blessed when they remembered it was the root that supported them and not vice versa. Only as they recognized that Jesus Christ was their source of life and sustenance did they experience divine blessing. They don't recognize this today yet. They still believe they can do everything that needs to be done without God. They are nationalists, not a redemptive people. The modern Israel rejects Messiah, rejects holiness in Christ. They are godless and impure people, and if you doubt this just go visit them. They and the United States are equally sinful and debaucherous.
Rom 11:19 Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
Rom 11:20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
Only faith makes one acceptable with God, not national history or genetic connections.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
Rom 11:22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
Natural Jews' only hope is to be grafted back in to the true Israel of God.
Rom 11:24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
This is so fascinating, and explains a little bit of the special relationship Jews still have with the whole covenant process. Gentiles are wild olive branches, but Jews are natural olive branches. It is much more natural for them to become believers than it is even for Gentiles. I believe it is written in their DNA, but even though it is it doesn't confer to them salvation apart from belief in Christ.
Rom 11:25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
We are currently watching this "partial hardening," unfold as well as the fullness of Gentiles developing. Note, it is just "partial hardening." It isn't apparently as deep a hardening as Gentile hardening. There is something written in their DNA that should be inclining them towards faith in Christ, but currently they are resisting it. One day this will change.
Rom 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";
Whoo Hoo...this is the BELL RINGER! Did you see it? All Israel will be saved. This does not mean all Jews will be saved. It means that true Israel will be comprised of saved Jews and Gentiles. The Deliverer Jesus will come from Zion...who or what is Zion? Zion represents the pinnacle of everything the concept of being true spiritual Israel means. Zion is the House of Israel, the city on a hill, the shining city, the city of God, the Church, the Bride, the children of God with Christ seated on the throne of their hearts in the midst of His spiritual and glorious Kingdom that will fill the entire earth. They will be referred to as "The Israel of God" - Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and/even
upon the Israel of God.
Paul said it similarly in Romans 3 -
Rom 3:29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
Rom 3:30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
And in Romans 10 -
Rom 10:19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry."
Rom 10:20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me."
Rom 10:21 But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."
The New Creation, of Galatians 6, and the "All who walk by this rule", are described here as "The Israel of God." The word "and" just preceding the phrase "upon the Israel of God," is the Greek word "kai" and is far better translated here as "even." - "even upon the Israel of God." In other words, Israel of God is a further descriptive term of those whom he has just described. The whole context leans towards this interpretation of kai and fits perfectly with all Paul has already said in Romans. Broader context is always to be used to determine clarity in the narrower uncertain context. The broader context of Paul's writing on this subject is clearly the book of Romans. The new creation in Paul's writings always refers to those who are born again in Christ, and in Galatians he now caps off who they truly are...they are
THE ISRAEL OF GOD.
So, obviously God's plan was always to include the Gentiles in His Israel plan, thus causing the Jews to be jealous.
Rom 11:27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
The Old Covenant is forever over, including the Law, the sacrificial system, the physical temple, and the nation of Israel as a unique covenant location. Jesus will not be returning to the geographical locale of modern Israel to set up His eternal kingdom, nor will He be authorizing the rebuilding of the Jewish temple, Levitical system, or sacrifices. If this were to come about it would simply be a yet further manifestation of their rejection of Christ as the final sacrifice for their sins, and a development of a false religion based around works of the flesh that men do to pacify an angry rejecting God or to appear to be a genuinely religious people who care about God's ways. Either way, it would be an abomination that no God loving Christian could in any way support or hope will come about. Yet, to hear Dispensationalists, they froth at the mouth over the possibility of a rebuilt temple on the temple mount in Jerusalem and the whole Levitical system re-established. What a spiritual confusion this is. It would be like slapping Jesus in the face and then asking Him if He enjoyed it. Utterly ridiculous. Ezekiel's temple, described in the book of Ezekiel can ONLY be describing the majesty of the body of Christ as the expanded temple of God. In Solomon's day the temple was a little small building compared to the massive temple or worldwide body of Christ. Ezekiel is merely showing that the Israel of God will be such a huge thing in the earth that its glory will far exceed the former Israel and the former temple and there is no real comparison.
Rom 11:28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
What are they? ENEMIES! Political enemies? No...they are spiritual enemies, because they have rejected their Messiah and have replaced Him with Jewish Nationalism, which is exactly what they did just prior to their being sent to Babylon. Why, oh why, would we bless them nationally today as if they were a most favored nation to God? They aren't. They are just exactly what Jesus referred to them when He walked this earth...an evil and adulterous generation. Do we support antisemiticism because of this? Absolutely not! Do we give them some kind of spiritual pass into acceptance of God because of the principles of PaCL? Absolutely not! They need Jesus...period. As a nation we favor them in the middle east because they hold to a form of democracy that honors freedom and their people, but don't confuse honoring their democratic politics with spiritual favor. As believers we are called first and foremost to be concerned about their spiritual condition, only secondarily their natural political condition. The US should favor them politically. They are a wonderful ally, but they are no ally of God and this is their greatest error.
Let me digress here again...If you believe that just because you are an American you are under some special blessing of God you are deceived. This nation, most of it politicians, and the majority of its citizenry have rejected Jesus Christ and are under the same kind of condemnation that natural Israel is. If you think God is going to give this nation a truly godly President, Congress, or Senate you fail to understand the untold number of compromises built into the the current political structure that guarantees that the rule of God will never be honored in this nation until its citizenry are reconciled to God and we are a long way from that right now. The best we can hope for at this juncture is the lesser of two evils, when it comes to choosing a President.
Will Jesus rule and reign on some natural throne in Jerusalem again? I do not believe so, and I believe that those who take Old Testament prophecies and literalize them into such a notion need to read how Paul takes those verses in Romans and applies them to the Church, the true Israel of God. Only then will we understand how to take those passages in their truest prophetic meaning. We are the only temple of God that will ever exist on this earth again. We are the only true nation of Israel that God will ever again recognize as the nation of Israel. We are living under the only covenant that will ever again be a recognized covenant by God...a covenant in and under the blood of Jesus Christ by faith in His perfect and complete work at the cross. The only covenant yet to come is not a return to some form of old covenant, but rather the eternal covenant, in which God recreates the earth and turns it back into a worldwide paradise in which righteousness and only righteous people live.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
In context what does Paul mean here? Simply this...God has given to the Jewish people and all Gentiles a gift of opportunity to become the true Israel of God and He will never take it away. It has been given and it is available to be entered into by faith in Christ. Short of this and there is no relationship with God or direct blessing from Him.
Rom 11:30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
Rom 11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.
Only the mercy of God will accomplish this great revival, not by fawning false religious Christian sentiment towards the Jewish people. What will make them jealous of us? Not our fawning approval, but by our walking in the clear and obvious blessings of holiness in Christ. As the Church becomes the citadel of purity and faith in the earth, and as God blesses believers for walking closely with Him, the Jews should see the clear and obvious blessing on us and become jealous for what they have given up for their nationalism, independence from God, hedonism, and idolatry. Dispensational theology is a smoke screen of false dedication to Israel. Our greatest service to them is not is recognizing them as God's holy people. Our greatest service to them is in calling them to repentance and ourselves walking closely and obediently to the Lord Jesus.
Rom 11:32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
We would never have understood the mystery I have just explained to you here in this article if it hadn't been for the special revelation God gave to Paul. Still today, most Christians don't understand this mystery, and are espousing unbiblical approaches to national Israel and God's plan for that nation in the future. Oh that God would open even more eyes, as He did to Paul, to see this amazing and rich mystery, wisdom and knowledge. Hopefully this article will have helped you to see it a little bit more!
Rom 11:34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"
Rom 11:35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"
Rom 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
So, do you see this mystery? Do you see the transition from natural Israel to spiritual Israel, from Israel via genetic lineage and Israel via spiritual connection to Christ? Can you see why to focus on natural Israel is to miss God's broader plan for the entire body of Christ composed of Jews and Gentiles? If you do see these things it will change the way you view your life's meaning, it will lead you to walk closely to Him, to reach out to the lost, to stop hoping for a soon rapture so you can escape your calling to bless the nations with the Gospel, with love, with a great work ethic, with service and wisdom and holiness. When this dawns on us we will live differently and Israel will awaken to their Lord. May God help us.
Some have asked me, "So Tom, are you buying into 'Replacement' theology?" To this question I would answer that such a thing could never happen. There is no replacement for God's plan for true Israel. The Church simply represents the true Israel, the offspring of Abraham through Christ. It is not that the Church has replaced natural Israel, Natural Israel was never the Israel God was after. His passion and focus has always been on true spiritual Israel. That hasn't changed since the time of Abraham and it will never change. He has never cast of true Israel and never will. Under the New Covenant He simply expanded the definition of His true Israel to include every single person on earth who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. They are included in the true Israel, as Paul describes in Romans 11. They are connected to the Olive Tree of Covenant relationship and whenever a Jewish person or a Gentile person believe in Christ they are immediately grafted into God's divine plan for true Israel.
If you would like to listen to an insightful documentary presentation on this same theme you can visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_Hu1hcsa4
It is a Paul Wittenberger film written by Steven L Anderson of the documentary "Marching to Zion". I assure you that you will learn much, be driven to rethink this whole matter, perhaps become angry, and then be left with much to think and pray over. In the end...hopefully, you will be brought to a place of a change of thinking...abandon Scofield's error of Dispensationalism, and led into the full truth of Christ's work under the New Covenant. They clearly expose that Zionism and Christianity are in diametric opposition to one another. Zionism is not spiritual doctrine based in Christ, but is rather a clear set of teachings repudiating Christ and His work.
They, in this documentary, do appear to espouse Replacement Theology which I have previously disavowed. I think they are unwise to align with this incorrect terminology because God always had two Israel's...one the true spiritual Israel by faith in Christ, and the other natural Israel. It isn't that these documentarians don't see this truth but they allow themselves to be named among those who teach Replacement Theology and I believe this is a mistake. It is not that God replaced Israel with the Church...the Church is the true Israel that God always recognized as those with true faith in Christ and who became known as the Church in the New Testament, comprised of Jews and Gentiles, but they are as much true Israel as those in the Old Testament who walked in covenant relationship with God.
Your comments are always welcome...
