What About Israel?

Most people shape their beliefs from a mixture of sources such as family traditions, religious teachings, their community, books, media, and social media.

Many opinions are formed from trusted voices such as preachers, teachers, politicians or from someone who knew someone who had a particular experience.

Over time, these influences shape how they see the world and what they consider “truth.”

But knowing where information comes from is only half the challenge.

The harder question is how a person decides whether or not their source of information is trustworthy.

Some rely on authority figures, others on the news or entertainment media or some even on personal experience.

Others base facts on whether or not the information fits what they already believe or what they want to believe.

 

Careful thinkers, those who care more about getting it right rather than believing something that’s corrupt or wrong, look for evidence.

They ask who produced this information? What motives have they got? Can the claims be checked against independent sources?

Truthfulness isn’t guaranteed by the loudest voice or the most familiar one, or by what may feel is right emotionally, but by a willingness to test rather than simply accept.

 

When we look at our universe and the life it contains and the countless perfect systems needed to sustain that life, we must accept that a great and mighty creator was responsible for it all, God, who is outside of time and outside of our known dimensions.

 

Once we accept that and we come to realise that His power, His majesty and His wisdom are far beyond our ability to imagine, we look to Him as the one and only source of absolute truth.

We come to understand that God has an eternal plan for mankind and we naturally long to hear what that plan is.

We learn that God has revealed that plan to every man that desires to look for it.

He’s given us a book, the Holy Bible, which contains all the revelation he’s given to mankind, little by little, over many centuries.

If we care to look at the evidence we can prove that this Bible is in fact the inspired Word of God.

It’s here, in this Word of God, in the whole story, not just selected verses, that we find the truth of the beginning of and the history of, the nation of Israel.

But even with the Bible we must see the whole book, the whole story, the whole plan, and not just cherry picked verses used to proof text a particular stance or doctrine. The whole bible must be studied and rightly divided as 2 Timothy 2:15 says.

An example of wrongly dividing is the Islamist who believes God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Ishmael, or those that preach that the church has replaced Israel.

Many modern day preachers use scriptures in isolation to try and prove just about any doctrine such as, God wants you wealthy and free from the challenges of this present world.

There’re seemingly endless false or doubtful doctrines that come from taking verses out of their correct context.

We need to see that although God’s character, who He is, never changes, His dealings with man do. For example when He spoke to Abram in Genesis 12:1 we know He wasn’t talking to us today just the same with Exodus 9 where God is instructing Moses and the same with countless other places even when the Lord Jesus walked on the earth. Every word of the Bible is for our instruction as 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us but not every word is for us to carry out under the dispensation of grace that we live under today.

 

In Genesis 12:1-3 God speaks to Abram who would later be Abraham. Let’s read,

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

 

God gave the fathers of Israel a special promise that they would be the channel of God’s blessing and curse to the world.

If anyone was to be blessed they needed to bless Israel, and if anyone did not, they’d be cursed. Israel was the channel of God’s judgment and reward toward the earth.

 

People, kings, and nations were blessed or cursed depending on how they responded to the channel of God’s blessing, Israel, and we have numerous proofs that this was so.

Jesus was not sent to Gentiles as we see in Matthew 15:24, but look how a Gentile centurion who sought healing for his servant from Jesus, is described as blessing Israel in Luke 7:4-5,

And when they (the elders of the Jews) came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he (the centurion) was worthy for whom he should do this: 

For he loveth our nation (Israel), and he hath built us a synagogue. 

 

When most of the Bible describes Israel as the channel of God’s blessing, it’s easy to assume that God’s doing the same thing today as He’s always done.

Sincere Christians continue to bless Israel according to Genesis 12:3 and seek their favour in order to receive God’s blessing.

But this is a mistake which has it’s seed in the failure to rightly divide the word of truth as 2 Timothy 2:15 advises we should.

 

Our Blessing through Christ today, in the dispensation of grace in which we live is not Israel.

The problem with trying to obey Genesis 12:3 today is that it ignores the way we access the riches of God’s grace according to the mystery of Christ given to the apostle to the gentiles, Paul.

 

According to the mystery, Israel is fallen today and although it will always be God’s chosen nation it has no spiritual standing with God in this dispensation as we read in Romans 11:11,

I (Paul) say then, Have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: (here Pau’s saying God forbid that their fall is permanent. It’s not.) but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them (Israel) to jealousy. 

 

Israel is counted in unbelief and all in sin, exactly the same as the Gentiles as we see in Romans 3:9 and Romans 11:32.

 

In the church today, the body of Christ, there’s neither Jew nor Gentile. Being Jewish doesn’t give anyone gain closer access to God or his blessings in this dispensation as we see in Galatians 3:28 which reads,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

 

Paul describes in Ephesians 2:13 that though Israel was the channel and access to God’s blessing in time past, now our access to God and his blessings comes through the body and blood of Christ,

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 

And Ephesians 2:18,

For through him we both (that’s Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

 

If there wasn’t a single Israelite in the body of Christ, and thankfully there are many, every member would still have all spiritual blessings in Christ as we see in Ephesians 1:3.

God has changed the channel of his blessing from the nation of Israel to the body of Christ which we see in Ephesians 3:1-6. Let’s read,

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 

How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 

 

There are Jews who’ve been saved by the gospel of grace, but blessing Israel as a nation today ignores God’s will and blesses unsaved men because of their flesh as we see in Galatians 6:15.

 

God’s channel of blessing has changed, and so has how punishments are dealt.

The promise of Genesis 12:3 includes not only a blessing but a curse. In Genesis 12:3 if anyone fails to bless Israel, they’re cursed by God.

Many pastors and teachers who fail to see the mystery try to place a country that does not politically endorse the Zionist movement today as cursed.

By the way a Zionist is simply someone who supports a Jewish, self-governed homeland in the land of Israel (historically called Palestine).

 

In contrast to Genesis 12:3, Paul says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law in Galatians 3:13-14 which reads,

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

 

The body of Christ can’t be placed under a curse any more by God’s grace.

 

Our glory is not in the nation of Israel, but in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ through which we receive every spiritual blessing and redemption from every curse as Galatians 6:14 explains,

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 

 

However we can Bless Israel today.

The mystery of Christ describes how God’s blessings can come upon anyone despite Israel’s fall, and how curses can be removed from sinners who don’t deserve such a deliverance. The mystery is revealed in the grace of Christ.

 

Today all men are offered salvation freely, not through covenants, a special nation, or the law, but through the finished work of Christ as we see in 1 Timothy 2:4,

Who (that’s God) will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

 

Though Israel is temporarily fallen today as a nation, they can still be saved. In the future, Israel will return as the nation above the nations in Christ’s earthly kingdom, but not today.

Romans 11:26-28 explains this.

 

To bless Israel (or any nation) today, we bless them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray for and urge them to put their faith in Christ as the means for all spiritual blessings under grace.

 

Unfortunately, for many who refuse to see the fellowship of the mystery, this is seen as the ultimate offense especially by Israel. That offense existed in Paul’s day, and it continues today. We read in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24,

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 

But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 

 

In this dispensation of grace, God is not sending blessings through any nation, but rather through Christ to the church, which is His Body as we see in Ephesians 1:22-23.

Studying the Bible with a dispensational view not only helps us understand the Bible but also helps us make sense of the news in relation to Israel.

 

What Is God’s Prophetic Purpose For Israel?

The Bible describes a two-fold plan and purpose that God has for the universe.

The difference between these two programs which are inside God’s overall purpose comes to us two ways. Firstly by what was ‘spoken by the mouth of the prophets since the world began’ as in Acts 3:21, and secondly that which was ‘kept secret since the world began’ as in Romans 16:25.

We mark the difference between the two programs by calling the first “prophecy”, while the other is the “mystery”, revealed to Paul as in Ephesians 3:1-5.

 

The prophetic program, “prophecy” promises a future dominion on earth, while the mystery program “mystery” promises a dominion in heavenly places.

These two programs describe the way to God’s single purpose for eternity – that all things would be in Christ as we read in Ephesians 1:10,

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 

 

God began to reveal his plan for the earth almost immediately to Adam, then to Abraham, and eventually to the nation of Israel. However, he kept the information of his heavenly program, “the mystery” a secret from the foundation of the world as Ephesians 3:9 explains, and we read,

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 

 

God’s program for the earth can be summed up like this:

Israel is created as God’s chosen people. God created the nation Israel to have a privileged status before Him as a peculiar people and we see that in Genesis 12:2, Exodus 19:5, Romans 3:1-2 and many other places.

This chosen nation is promised a kingdom on earth and God promised a specific piece of land that would mark where He would set up His kingdom on earth and we see this throughout the bible especially in Genesis 13:15, Deuteronomy 34:4, Psalm 37:22, Matthew 5:5 and Isaiah 2:2-4.

 

A Messiah was promised to Israel that would lead the nation into world dominion and power as we see in Daniel 2:44-45, Isaiah 9:6-7 and Jeremiah 23:5.

This kingdom will rule the world with the Messiah as King.

Israel will be the channel of blessing to the Gentile nations Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18, Zechariah 8:20-23, Isaiah 60:3, Matthew 5:16.

 

In this prophecy program righteousness comes through God’s covenants.

God gave the Old Covenant as a token that Israel would be a nation that followed after God. The New Covenant would replace the old as the method of attaining righteousness and entrance into the kingdom as we see in Deuteronomy 6:25, Ezekial 36:24-27, Matthew 5:20, John 14:21 and 1 John 3:7-10.

A remnant of Israel will live through a great tribulation before entering the kingdom. With the divine protection of God, Israel will be able to live through the time of His wrath poured out on earth against all who reject Him.

They’ll be refined as silver and come out prepared to enter the kingdom on Earth says Daniel 9:24, Zechariah 13:9, Mark 13:13 and 1 Peter 4:17.

 

All these aspects of the prophecy program stand in stark contrast to the aspects of God’s mystery program, “the Mystery” or God’s program for heavenly places.

Today we who are saved are not participants of God’s program for the earth. We’re ambassadors of God’s heavenly purpose residing on earth to do His will see 2 Corinthians 5:20 and Ephesians 2:6.

 

Understanding the difference in the Bible between the Prophecy and the Mystery is a key to understanding what God’s will is for us today.

This basic truth can help us better understand our Bibles and the purpose of our Lord and Savior.

 

What about national Israel now, today?

Their story doesn’t begin in 1948, when Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben‑Gurion, publicly announced the Israeli Declaration of Independence, The State of Israel was established just hours before the British Mandate in Palestine expired.

The British Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate that gave Britain legal authority to administer the territories of Palestine and Transjordan after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

Instead the story starts, as we’ve pointed out, in Genesis 12, when God calls Abram to “go…to the land that I will show you,” promising to make him into a great nation, to bless those who bless him, and to curse those who curse him, Genesis 12:1–3. That promise is unconditional. God binds Himself to it in a covenant ratified in Genesis 15 and reaffirmed in Genesis 17.

 

The apostle Paul describes in Romans 11:25 the present state of spiritual Israel,

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 fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 

 

He then looks forward to a future national turning to Messiah in Romans 11:26,

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 

 

Put together, Scripture speaks of a time, such as is today, in which Israel is going back to their land but still largely in unbelief and under intense pressure through which they’re mysteriously preserved as a nation until God opens their eyes again after the fullness of the gentiles, when this dispensation of grace has ended.

When God’s grace ends His wrath starts against all unbelief. He cannot offer grace freely to every person while bringing wrath at the same time.

What will follow will be a terrible tribulation the likes of which the world has never before seen but a remnant of the nation of Israel will believe and they will be miraculously preserved through the period of tribulation to enter the Kingdom that’ll finally come after this 2000 year interval in the Kingdom’s prophecy timeline due to Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.

That interval period was revealed to Paul as “the Mystery”.

Today the nation is physically going home but spiritually far off, and yet they’re right at the center of God’s unfolding plan.

Today, as in every other nation in the world, personal, individual salvation is only possible through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ no matter whether we’re Jew or Gentile.