|
Author
|
Topic: Future Israel
|
epouraniois
unregistered
|
posted
Future Israel
This is the question, does Israel play a future part with the Lord. We find evangelicals are divided on this. There are those who say yes, that there is an overwhelming testimony of a future for Israel, and then there are those who say no, that Israel’s blessings have been transferred spiritually to the church, and the church now is the real Israel. The church is the spiritual Israel, and so, the people who hold that view don’t see any future for Israel as a nation. This is very important, after all, we are trying to search out the revealed truth as the Lord has set forth in regard to this Book, and we can’t afford to err on this. In Exodus chapter 19, God made some remarkable statements on what He was prepared to do for them, but it was a conditional covenant.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
There had never been such a thing before, but IF...THEN, they should be a peculiar people, set apart from all nations…BUT they didn’t, they broke the laws THEY BROKE THE COVENANT.
So, IF, this was all that God had revealed, then we should have to admit there would be no future at all, for the Jew as a nation, they didn’t meet the conditions, and they’ve got no claim on the covenant made with the Lord. However, we do find that later on God made another covenant, and we should want to know about it.
Jer 31:31
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: {Now, is this the same house of Israel? Well, it must be because God references the first covenant}
Jer 31:32
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; {we can’t spiritualize that, it is a real people God took out of a real Egypt} which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel{same people}; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;
{If God had of done that in the beginning, He would half to keep it, but He didn’t, it was a test. They haven’t got the law written in their heart, and we go wrong the same way, we must search for the truth and we still go wrong. But God says He will do this}
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
{there are no if’s there, not if they keep MY law, but God says I will do it}
Jer 31:34
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
{and then God appeals to creation}
Jer 31:35
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
Jer 31:36
If {here is the first IF, but it isn’t for Israel, it is a challenge thrown out}those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.
{note those words, “a nation before me”. This is not just a blessing of individual Jews being saved by the gospel today}
Jer 31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
{if you can do that, God says}
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
{what a challenge, nobody can accept it, nobody can do it, so there must then, be a future for these people, otherwise, we may as well close the Book, because God couldn’t be more emphatic and more clear}
Lets turn to the apostle Paul, where he is dealing with these people and their lack of response, their opposition to the gospel; their attitude covered all thru the period covered by the Acts of the apostles. And God had opened the door thru Peter’s ministry, and he tells us here why:
Rom 11:11
I say then, Have they {the Jew} stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
{in order to stimulate them, if possible, speaking after the manner of men}
Rom 11:14
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
Rom 11:15
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world,{notice the words} what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Well, some say there is going to be no receiving of them, God is finished with them, but that isn’t what this says here at all. God has temporarily lopped them off, some of the branches, as God speaks of them figuratively, as to a tree. God is able to put them back again, and when that happens, its going to be like resurrection; “life from the dead”. Well, that’s what a dead man needs, if there’s going to be any future for him. That’s what the world is like, spiritually dead.
Its going to for a people, that THAT people are going to receive in resurrection life. Life from the dead. God makes it know in the OT, that they are going to be raised, they are going to know the power of God’s resurrection as a nation. And when this happens, it will be like, life, from the dead.
Rom 11:24
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature
{the olive tree is simply a symbol},
and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
{this is the receiving of them back again. Now, he’s going to drop the symbol and tell the Jews plainly}
Rom 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
{if we don’t understand what the fullness of the Gentiles is, we can at least tell, that it is not forever, but only until something happens, and then after that}
Rom 11:26
And so all Israel shall be saved
{He makes it clear here, this is not the church which is His body, but ALL Israel shall be saved, this is his people here, they are my flesh, Paul describes them in chapter 9, his own kinsmen, all Israel shall be saved}
: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
{Still Israel here, Jacob! And of course, their only hope is they are going to have a Savior, the same Savior that saved you and me is the same Savior that is going to deliver them, He’s coming to save them; and He therefore shall save them. Do you remember the covenant, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”; and when the Lord was here, He instituted, He said, this is my new covenant, in my blood which is shed for many; for it didn’t depend upon them, it depended upon Christ and that one perfect sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ made, and upon that basis, and upon the revealed word of God, that at the return of Christ, when they look on Him, whom they had pierced. That will be sufficient, at last, to bring them to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus, a nation usable at last, by God, to be a channel of blessing to the whole earth; for “all Israel shall be saved”}
Rom 11:27
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
{well, that can only be that new covenant we’ve been talking about}
Rom 11:28
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election
{this is touching a part of the plan of God, they’ve got a part in this glorious plan, they are a nation that’s been chosen for a purpose}
they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Rom 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Lets do get clear in our mind, what this word repentance is. It doesn’t mean to be sorry and to weep tears, it may lead to that, but it means a change of mind, a change of attitude, a "new man". So here, is a most marvelous statement, that God does not change His mind, it is a gift and calling given without repentance over His purposes. From this fact alone, we can see that God has brought them into His glorious plan, and He does not change His mind.
But some are teaching that God has transferred all His plans and all His purpose to the church, which goes flatly against what scripture has made so clear, stated so plainly, that He hasn’t altered His plan. These teachings that spiritualize the church into Israel, also teach that there is no literal kingdom for a 1,000 years, that instead, it is all spiritualized. So we ought to be quite sure that we are resting on scripture and not on the opinion of men, however good they are.
Jer 33:25
Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
Jer 33:26
Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
God throws out another challenge. And so there can be no casting off for these people. I want you to see, that this is not just a couple of isolated text; its all over the scriptures, if we only have eyes to see, and hearts to believe.
Deu 30:1
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
{that’s where they are now, and have been for 1900 years or more}
Deu 30:2
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4
If any of thine be driven out unto the outermost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Deu 30:5
And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
This has never been fulfilled, there have been partial fulfillments, but not fully fulfilled.
Isa 43:5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Isa 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Here is God gathering these people, they have been scattered, but they will be brought back again. We are told in this very prophecy that He that scattered Israel, will gather them. This too, is all over the Book. And just as the first Israel must be the nation of Israel, so then the gathering of Israel, must be the same people. Would it be reasonable to say that He who scattered Israel will gather the church? It wouldn’t balance, it doesn’t make any sense.
Eze 37:21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen
{that is the nations where God has scattered them}
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: {this is a real land, from the river Euphrates to the Nile, this cannot be spiritualized away}
Eze 37:22
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Eze 37:24
And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Eze 37:25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt{just try and spiritualize that}; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
Eze 37:26
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.
Eze 37:27
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28
And the heathen{the gentile nations} shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
Now that’s just a sample of the exquisite scriptures where God says I will. I will do this for these people, and we see we are dealing with a God that doesn’t change, and what if He did? Could we trust Him to fulfill what He has promised for us? That raises a problem to horrible to contemplate.
Psa 89:2
For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
Psa 89:3
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Can you place this in your mind? The God of Truth, whose name is the Amen, swearing on His name to David, that He will fulfill His unconditional covenant with Israel? Well, that is just what He did. It doesn’t rest on Israel, not on what they have done, or what they did not do; it rests entirely on the wonderful redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the blood on His cross.
Needless to say, there is yet a future for this nation. He is coming back to them, they great deliverer is going to save them, and that new covenant of grace is going to be put into effect, when “I” take away their sins. So our consideration in the plan of God; we must have a place for the restored, saved, cleansed, and finally at last, usable people of Israel. If we don’t do that, then we will bring our own ideas, and we are going to get nothing but confusion. How much better it is, to simply, like a child, just accept what God has said. We can be sure, then, that we have been guided into the way of truth.
In looking into this matter, I have noticed the phrase, ""the Israel of God" the church is the new Israel, the real Israel"". So often do they use it, you would think it would be scattered all over the Bible. Well, the phrase, “the Israel of God” occurs once only, and we’d better look at the context carefully.
Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Now you’ll notice that this is not one company but two. "Peace be on them…and upon the Israel of God". That little preposition “on”, “epi” is repeated two times> We are dealing with two companies. The Israel of God is not even a description of all the people that are saved to this day; it was a description, of course of the faithful of Israel, the little remnant according to the election of grace, the few people who responded to the call of the kingdom and of Christ who had a turn of heart towards the Lord. Those who were saved, during the Acts, formed the Israel of God, the faithful Jewish remnant. It stands out as having never been used of any one else, nor was it used again. We certainly have no right to just apply it to all the redeemed for all time afterward without any instruction to do so whatsoever.
It is essentially a very flimsy basis to erect a great doctrine. Beware of one text doctrines; but if it is in God’s word it must be true under the given context. But if there is even one doubt about it, then we should turn to the word of God, and search the scriptures.
Where we find "the Israel of God", we find its direct application, to a specific people in engaging in their specific hope, and the term is never used again. Now, concerning the church, we read that it is the body of Christ, of which He is the glorious Head. This speaks of the closest relationship the Holy Spiirit has revealed. Of this church, it is not once written that their inheritance is anywhere but in the heavenly places. It is not once written that the shpere of enjoyment for this church being 'in the land', the same 'in the land' we just read of Israel's promise. Israel's unconditional promise by covenant and the sworn testimony of God. God who is trustworthy and knows the end from the beginning and cannot lie, and did not have to swear to David, but He did, How 'bout that? What a remarkable God. He may have been showing some humor with David when He swore to uphold His Word by His own Name, however, He had to do it, probably thinking about how stupid *sodish* His children are, that they would need this for comfort, for understanding, for reproof, being very forgetful as we are.
Israel knows there is a future for them. It is written. They having got the Son of God thing down yet, but they do know they have not been forgotten. It is the church which is divided on the point of Israel having a future.
In fact, I think it is fair to say, that thre is an overwhelming testimony of a future for Israel.
2Ti 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
And that verse my friends, is written in the epistles with our name on the envelope. This verse is instruction given to "the church which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all".
IP: Logged | 
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic
