Christian Message Boards: How many Israels are there or will there be?

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Posted by Eden (Member # 5728) on :

Currently there seem to be TWO Israels and later there will be a THIRD Israel.

The FIRST Israel is the church which the New Testament calls the Israel of God:

Galatians 6:16
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

And the SECOND Israel are the Israelis who currently live in the land of Israel since 1948, and these Israelis call themselves Israel too.

Some of the Israelis also belong to the church (the Israel of God), so that those belong also to FIRST Israel and to SECOND Israel.

A THIRD Israel will appear when the house of Israel and the house of Judah come up out of their graves among the Gentiles, and they GO to the SECOND Israel:

Ezekiel 37

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

At that point, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, touches down on the mount of Olives, and the FIRST Israel and the SECOND Israel and the THIRD Israel MERGE TOGETHER and now all three become the ISRAEL OF GOD.

Zechariah 14

3 Then shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.

4 And His {Jesus's} feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Then all three Israels will merge into the ISRAEL OF GOD. But currently, only the church is the ISRAEL OF GOD. On the other hand, even the ISRAEL OF GOD is awaiting its redemption body:

Romans 8:23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Is there anyone out there who agrees with me on these three Israels?

With love,
Eden

Posted by oneinchrist (Member # 6532) on :

Hi Eden,
I agree with the first two. Some call them the spiritual Israel and the physical Israel. Spiritual Israel by circumcision of the spirit (as Paul identifies them), and physical Israel being all originating Israelites and thier descendents in the flesh. Im just not sure about the third that you identify because I really dont understand the passage. With love in Christ, Daniel