Post by Cindy on Sept 21, 2015 11:37:01 GMT -5
I want to address the question of if and how the church and Israel become one.
It's a good question and one that many people don't really understand. It confused me too for a long time till the Lord took me "back to the beginning" and led me through it from there. For a "short answer" I can simply say that the Church and Israel never become one. They never have, and never will. God has entirely different plans for each. That being said however, any and all individual Jews who accept Christ as their Messiah (including those who accepted Him as their Messiah when He was here on the earth) become part of the Church. In a sense they stop being "Israel" and become part of the body of Christ. But that's for individuals, not for the nation as a whole. Let me try to explain...
The disciples were all Jewish, and like everyone else in the nation they were looking for their Messiah to come and save them. Of course they were looking more to be saved from Rome then to be saved from their sins, but those individuals who became His disciples recognized the Truth and accepted Him as Messiah. But there was also a much larger group of people who did not accept him, like the priests and leaders of Israel, although they were the very ones that should have been the first to recognize Him!
If they had accepted Him officially in their offices of priests and leaders of the nation, then what we call the Millennial kingdom would have started back then and history would be very different. Of course God knew they wouldn't accept Him then and had planned to use that as a way to bring the rest of us into His family. Keep in mind that when God chose Israel to be His possession, it was so they would teach other nations about Him so all the world could be saved. But they never really did their job. They got sidetracked and caught in the web of laws they made up, so instead of leading holy lives and drawing others to God, they became legalistic and snobbish thinking they were better then anyone else. (even though the Lord repeatedly told them they weren't lol - sounds a lot like what happened/happens in the church too huh?). Seriously though, they got so legalistic and snobbish about it all that they actually separated themselves so thoroughly from everyone else that they would cross the street rather then take the chance of touching or being touched by a Gentile. When you view others that way, it's kind of hard to tell them about God, and so they failed at that and also failed to recognize our Lord.
Because of their failure at both, the Lord obviously couldn't begin the Millennial Kingdom as they didn't meet the requirement that the Nation accept Him as their Messiah. Now, God would have been perfectly within His rights to condemn all the people as a whole to hell for that since He'd been dealing with them as a nation for so long. It's only because of His great mercy and love that He determined to let individual Jews choose for themselves if they accepted Him. Now is when the stakes of the game change for everyone.
Those Jews who accepted Him would be giving up their "status" as part of the nation of Israel and all that entailed. Most of us (and them) would be appalled at that, thinking of all the blessings they'd be giving up, but as Paul said, he learned that all those things were nothing but rubbish compared to what the Lord Jesus gave Him in return. If we think about it logically however, you would think that most Jew's would be running as fast as they could to get on the Lord's bandwagon! Why? Because since the nation had officially rejected Him as Messiah, the Nation of Israel was going to be going through some very bad times in the near future. Sure the nation had experienced God's discipline a lot of times and been conquered by other countries and taken as slaves and their temple even torn down, but they'd always eventually turned back to the Lord and back to their homeland. But this time was going to be different. It was going to be really, really bad! People were going to be dropping like flies from starvation and disease, Jerusalem and the temple would be flattened, and anyone still alive would be taken as slaves. Jesus knew this would be the outcome and He prophesied it so that they would be warned, but it hurt His loving heart so that it made Him weep.
Luke 19:41–44 —As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it *and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. *The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. *They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” *
You would think that knowing this was what was in store for your nation that individuals would do just about anything to escape it. but only a few did (in comparison with the number that could have) This is what they were "giving up" by accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Yes, they'd also be giving up all the promises God gave Israel which would be fulfilled during the Millennial Kingdom, but most folks are more concerned about the immediate future rather then long term anyway.
So the individual Jews that accepted Jesus back then, gave up their position as being part of Israel and were made a member of the Body of Christ. In fact the body of Christ, the Church, was all Jewish at first, but that didn't last long at all. Soon gentiles were added to it and then the problems began because the Jews still had to deal with how they'd been raised to believe that they were better then the Gentiles and that they shouldn't be around them etc. And hence we have a great deal of the NT devoted to explaining to them and us that now they had been made into a new creation - they were no longer Jew or Gentile, but instead were one body in Christ.
Notice just prior to this first verse in Luke, that in verse 22 before it (which I didn't post), we're told that the following verses were things Jesus said to His disciples, who were all Jews at that point:
Luke 12:32 —“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Ephesians 3:6 —6 * This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. *
2 Corinthians 5:17 —Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! *
Galatians 6:15 —Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. *
The Ephesians verse isn't saying that the Gentiles inherit the promises to Israel, but rather that they all- both Jew and Gentile - are a new creation and will share the same promises -those given them (us) by Christ. We just get confused when we read these because we forget to take them in context with the all the bible says about this. As you know, we also have to remember to check to see just who the apostle is talking to when something is said -is he talking to Jews only, Gentiles only, a mix of both, only folks that are saved, only unsaved, a mix of both, etc.
After the destruction of Israel in 70AD which fulfilled our Lord's prophecy, Jews still had to choose as individuals whether or not they were willing to give up their part as "Israel" and become one with Christ and be a part of the Church. Now they didn't have to worry about that destruction so maybe the decision would be harder to make. Not really though because Israel still has consequences to pay for their decision as a nation - the Tribulation and that will make what happened to them in 70AD or any other time look like a picnic!
In today's world, we Gentiles tend to see everything revolving around us and as usual, we find that's simply not true. God's purpose behind the Tribulation is really about the Jews - about Israel, not about Gentiles at all - except as far as how they treat the Jewish people during that time. It's to bring them to their knees and cause them to finally realize that Jesus is their Messiah and accept Him as such. Of course God also wants the Gentiles who haven't been raptured to be saved too, but that's a secondary purpose - not the main one. God, in His mercy, used the fact that Israel rejected Him, to bring the rest of the world into His family and He will continue to allow that through the Tribulation. The Tribulation itself however is all about Israel repenting and coming back to God.
Even the Millennial Kingdom isn't about us Gentiles. It too is about Israel, for that's when all the promises God made to Israel will be realized. That helps us understand the Temple sacrifices during this time too, for they will simply be doing those kind of as a penance and a reminder that the only sacrifice that matters is the one that Jesus made.
So individual Jews that accept Christ are giving up the tribulation but they're also giving up being able to participate in the Millennial Kingdom as Israel. If you think about it though, any Gentile that accepts Christ as their Messiah is also giving up those things, because there will also be Gentiles in the Tribulation period and in the Millennial Kingdom. So the only real difference is that God never made any any Gentile nations His possession so there's not as much national identity there.
And what did the Jew's who accepted Christ back when He was here and those who accept Him now gain when they give up their identification with the Nation of Israel? They receive the same things we do. They become a new creation and a member of the body of Christ, the Church. Most of us don't think about that much, but in reality there is no closer association with our Lord then that one. There is no higher privilege, honor, reward or gift that could possibly be given to anyone then that.
Ephesians 5:30–32 —for we are members of his body. *“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” *This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. *
And this is something we receive now and then see in it's perfection when we receive our new bodies and our salvation is complete. This is what Paul and the other apostles gained and desired so desperately for the rest of their race to gain. To those who don't see our Lord as being alive and well right now though, it seems more then a little strange. But let me show you two verses that really show the difference in God's plans...or rather shows there are different plans for each: In the first one God is speaking to Israel about the Millennial Kingdom and what will happen then:
Isaiah 61:6–7 —And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. *Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. *
In this next one, if you read it in context you'll see that God is now speaking about the Gentiles that will be living in the Millennial Kingdom:
Isaiah 66:21 —And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the LORD. *
Sorry, I know those aren't the best ones to use to show this, but were the ones that I could think of off hand...
When Paul says we who are saved are all Abraham's seed, He's not saying that we are now "Israel". He's talking about the spiritual blessings of justification here, not national, ethnic, cultural or any other kind of blessings. So just as Abraham and those Jews who lived by faith were justified by their faith, so are we, even though we're Gentiles. In no way is he implying that we become Israel or that Israel becomes the Church.
Galatians 3:28–29 —There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. *If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. *
We see then that God has a plan for Israel and that plan hasn't changed. He also has a plan for us, the Church, the body of Christ, and further, He has a plan for those who live through or are born during the Millennial Kingdom era. Each plan is different and distinct though there are some things in each that are the same, just as each person is different and distinct, though there are some things about us all that are the same. Look at what we're told in Hebrews:
“God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:40)
Again we see that we don't all become one, but rather each is distinct with a distinct plan for them, which when seen together we will see that it's perfect.
Forgive me if this wanders a bit or isn't as thorough as it should be as I'm not feeling well today and to be honest, at this point my brain is starting to rebel and not cooperate so I'll have to end it here and hope that I've been able to clarify this for anyone that's unsure about it.
It's a good question and one that many people don't really understand. It confused me too for a long time till the Lord took me "back to the beginning" and led me through it from there. For a "short answer" I can simply say that the Church and Israel never become one. They never have, and never will. God has entirely different plans for each. That being said however, any and all individual Jews who accept Christ as their Messiah (including those who accepted Him as their Messiah when He was here on the earth) become part of the Church. In a sense they stop being "Israel" and become part of the body of Christ. But that's for individuals, not for the nation as a whole. Let me try to explain...
The disciples were all Jewish, and like everyone else in the nation they were looking for their Messiah to come and save them. Of course they were looking more to be saved from Rome then to be saved from their sins, but those individuals who became His disciples recognized the Truth and accepted Him as Messiah. But there was also a much larger group of people who did not accept him, like the priests and leaders of Israel, although they were the very ones that should have been the first to recognize Him!
If they had accepted Him officially in their offices of priests and leaders of the nation, then what we call the Millennial kingdom would have started back then and history would be very different. Of course God knew they wouldn't accept Him then and had planned to use that as a way to bring the rest of us into His family. Keep in mind that when God chose Israel to be His possession, it was so they would teach other nations about Him so all the world could be saved. But they never really did their job. They got sidetracked and caught in the web of laws they made up, so instead of leading holy lives and drawing others to God, they became legalistic and snobbish thinking they were better then anyone else. (even though the Lord repeatedly told them they weren't lol - sounds a lot like what happened/happens in the church too huh?). Seriously though, they got so legalistic and snobbish about it all that they actually separated themselves so thoroughly from everyone else that they would cross the street rather then take the chance of touching or being touched by a Gentile. When you view others that way, it's kind of hard to tell them about God, and so they failed at that and also failed to recognize our Lord.
Because of their failure at both, the Lord obviously couldn't begin the Millennial Kingdom as they didn't meet the requirement that the Nation accept Him as their Messiah. Now, God would have been perfectly within His rights to condemn all the people as a whole to hell for that since He'd been dealing with them as a nation for so long. It's only because of His great mercy and love that He determined to let individual Jews choose for themselves if they accepted Him. Now is when the stakes of the game change for everyone.
Those Jews who accepted Him would be giving up their "status" as part of the nation of Israel and all that entailed. Most of us (and them) would be appalled at that, thinking of all the blessings they'd be giving up, but as Paul said, he learned that all those things were nothing but rubbish compared to what the Lord Jesus gave Him in return. If we think about it logically however, you would think that most Jew's would be running as fast as they could to get on the Lord's bandwagon! Why? Because since the nation had officially rejected Him as Messiah, the Nation of Israel was going to be going through some very bad times in the near future. Sure the nation had experienced God's discipline a lot of times and been conquered by other countries and taken as slaves and their temple even torn down, but they'd always eventually turned back to the Lord and back to their homeland. But this time was going to be different. It was going to be really, really bad! People were going to be dropping like flies from starvation and disease, Jerusalem and the temple would be flattened, and anyone still alive would be taken as slaves. Jesus knew this would be the outcome and He prophesied it so that they would be warned, but it hurt His loving heart so that it made Him weep.
Luke 19:41–44 —As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it *and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. *The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. *They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” *
You would think that knowing this was what was in store for your nation that individuals would do just about anything to escape it. but only a few did (in comparison with the number that could have) This is what they were "giving up" by accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Yes, they'd also be giving up all the promises God gave Israel which would be fulfilled during the Millennial Kingdom, but most folks are more concerned about the immediate future rather then long term anyway.
So the individual Jews that accepted Jesus back then, gave up their position as being part of Israel and were made a member of the Body of Christ. In fact the body of Christ, the Church, was all Jewish at first, but that didn't last long at all. Soon gentiles were added to it and then the problems began because the Jews still had to deal with how they'd been raised to believe that they were better then the Gentiles and that they shouldn't be around them etc. And hence we have a great deal of the NT devoted to explaining to them and us that now they had been made into a new creation - they were no longer Jew or Gentile, but instead were one body in Christ.
Notice just prior to this first verse in Luke, that in verse 22 before it (which I didn't post), we're told that the following verses were things Jesus said to His disciples, who were all Jews at that point:
Luke 12:32 —“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Ephesians 3:6 —6 * This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. *
2 Corinthians 5:17 —Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! *
Galatians 6:15 —Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. *
The Ephesians verse isn't saying that the Gentiles inherit the promises to Israel, but rather that they all- both Jew and Gentile - are a new creation and will share the same promises -those given them (us) by Christ. We just get confused when we read these because we forget to take them in context with the all the bible says about this. As you know, we also have to remember to check to see just who the apostle is talking to when something is said -is he talking to Jews only, Gentiles only, a mix of both, only folks that are saved, only unsaved, a mix of both, etc.
After the destruction of Israel in 70AD which fulfilled our Lord's prophecy, Jews still had to choose as individuals whether or not they were willing to give up their part as "Israel" and become one with Christ and be a part of the Church. Now they didn't have to worry about that destruction so maybe the decision would be harder to make. Not really though because Israel still has consequences to pay for their decision as a nation - the Tribulation and that will make what happened to them in 70AD or any other time look like a picnic!
In today's world, we Gentiles tend to see everything revolving around us and as usual, we find that's simply not true. God's purpose behind the Tribulation is really about the Jews - about Israel, not about Gentiles at all - except as far as how they treat the Jewish people during that time. It's to bring them to their knees and cause them to finally realize that Jesus is their Messiah and accept Him as such. Of course God also wants the Gentiles who haven't been raptured to be saved too, but that's a secondary purpose - not the main one. God, in His mercy, used the fact that Israel rejected Him, to bring the rest of the world into His family and He will continue to allow that through the Tribulation. The Tribulation itself however is all about Israel repenting and coming back to God.
Even the Millennial Kingdom isn't about us Gentiles. It too is about Israel, for that's when all the promises God made to Israel will be realized. That helps us understand the Temple sacrifices during this time too, for they will simply be doing those kind of as a penance and a reminder that the only sacrifice that matters is the one that Jesus made.
So individual Jews that accept Christ are giving up the tribulation but they're also giving up being able to participate in the Millennial Kingdom as Israel. If you think about it though, any Gentile that accepts Christ as their Messiah is also giving up those things, because there will also be Gentiles in the Tribulation period and in the Millennial Kingdom. So the only real difference is that God never made any any Gentile nations His possession so there's not as much national identity there.
And what did the Jew's who accepted Christ back when He was here and those who accept Him now gain when they give up their identification with the Nation of Israel? They receive the same things we do. They become a new creation and a member of the body of Christ, the Church. Most of us don't think about that much, but in reality there is no closer association with our Lord then that one. There is no higher privilege, honor, reward or gift that could possibly be given to anyone then that.
Ephesians 5:30–32 —for we are members of his body. *“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” *This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. *
And this is something we receive now and then see in it's perfection when we receive our new bodies and our salvation is complete. This is what Paul and the other apostles gained and desired so desperately for the rest of their race to gain. To those who don't see our Lord as being alive and well right now though, it seems more then a little strange. But let me show you two verses that really show the difference in God's plans...or rather shows there are different plans for each: In the first one God is speaking to Israel about the Millennial Kingdom and what will happen then:
Isaiah 61:6–7 —And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. *Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. *
In this next one, if you read it in context you'll see that God is now speaking about the Gentiles that will be living in the Millennial Kingdom:
Isaiah 66:21 —And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the LORD. *
Sorry, I know those aren't the best ones to use to show this, but were the ones that I could think of off hand...
When Paul says we who are saved are all Abraham's seed, He's not saying that we are now "Israel". He's talking about the spiritual blessings of justification here, not national, ethnic, cultural or any other kind of blessings. So just as Abraham and those Jews who lived by faith were justified by their faith, so are we, even though we're Gentiles. In no way is he implying that we become Israel or that Israel becomes the Church.
Galatians 3:28–29 —There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. *If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. *
We see then that God has a plan for Israel and that plan hasn't changed. He also has a plan for us, the Church, the body of Christ, and further, He has a plan for those who live through or are born during the Millennial Kingdom era. Each plan is different and distinct though there are some things in each that are the same, just as each person is different and distinct, though there are some things about us all that are the same. Look at what we're told in Hebrews:
“God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:40)
Again we see that we don't all become one, but rather each is distinct with a distinct plan for them, which when seen together we will see that it's perfect.
Forgive me if this wanders a bit or isn't as thorough as it should be as I'm not feeling well today and to be honest, at this point my brain is starting to rebel and not cooperate so I'll have to end it here and hope that I've been able to clarify this for anyone that's unsure about it.
!!
