Spiritual Israel vs National Israel - Who is Israel in the New Testament?
The True Israel and the Return of the King
Today’s Verse and Thought
“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.”(Romans 11:11)
Who is Israel in the New Testament?
The New Covenant of God’s grace fulfilled the Old Covenant of the Law through Jesus Christ, the stone that many stumble over. The Jews rejected Jesus, so He rejected them. Was this a permanent rejection? Did the Gentiles now take the place of Israel forever?
Last week we looked at the various Jewish religious groups in Israel during the Intertestamental period, up to the time of Christ. We left off with Jesus taking away the kingdom from the Jewish leaders who failed to believe in Jesus as their Messiah.
" Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits." (Matthew 21:43)
Today many religious people think that Israel, as a nation, is no longer relevant. They believe that individual Jews have the same gift of salvation available, but their Jewish roots no longer hold any significance as God’s chosen people.
The identity of “Israel” after 70AD, and the birth of the Church, has been an ongoing theological debate in mainline religious circles. The New Testament refers to the name “Israel” in many passages, but different theological systems have differing viewpoints as to who this actually is.
In the traditional Jewish understanding, "Israel" in the New Testament refers to the ethnic and national descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). Orthodox Jews consider themselves the true and eternal heirs of all the covenant promises that God made with the patriarchs and the nation of Israel.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”(Deuteronomy 14:2).
Religious Orthodox Jews do not accept the New Testament as Scripture and therefore don’t see it as authoritative or relevant. Their view is based strictly on the Old Testament.
In the early Christian communities, "Israel” was understood to be the Jewish people. Early Christians, many of whom were Jewish, including the disciples, saw the message of Jesus as a fulfillment of God's promises to Israel, but not a change in their status as God’s elect.
Catholic Theology
Augustine (Caltholic theologian and philosopher 354–430 AD) believed that "true Israel" was not defined by ethnic, or national identity but by faith in Christ. Augustine used his influence in Catholicism to promote an allegorical approach to scripture, rather than a literal one. So according to Augustine, when one reads the New Testament, the Christian Church is now “Israel” and heirs to all the promises given to them in the Old Testament. All passages about Israel under the New Covenant are interpreted as symbolic.
Augustine said, “Judaism, since Christ, is a corruption; indeed, Judas is the image of the Jewish people: their understanding of Scripture is carnal; they bear the guilt for the death of the Savior, for through their fathers they have killed Christ.”
If Augustine provided the theological rationale for preserving some Jews he also maintained that Christianity superseded Judaism, inherited Jewish scripture, history and most importantly, the Covenant with God. This was Augustine’s, “‘theory of substitution’ whereby the New Israel of the church became a substitute of ancient Israel…” (source).
National Israel was no longer a factor according to this view. Of course, during Augustine’s time, national Israel had long disappeared thanks to the Romans renaming Israel, “Palestine,” and kicking the Jews out of the land centuries earlier, so we can understand how Augustine might have interpreted it as such.
As the Catholic church began to see itself as the "new Israel,” this eventually lead to a much later belief that the Christian Church as a whole had now replaced Israel which lead to Supersessionism. While the New Covenant in Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the Law practiced in Judaism, Catholicism took replacement a step further.
Replacement Theology (Supersessionism)
The Catholic Church taught for centuries that the Church replaced Israel and became the new recipient of all God's promises. They taught that the coming of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and covenants God made with Israel, and since the Jewish people rejected Jesus, their promises were now transferred to the Christian Church. This doctrine was (in theory) challenged in the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 Declaration Nostra Aetate, but never really clarified with any certainty.
“The Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God… The Church… deplores all hatred, persecution and other manifestations of antisemitism. (Nostra Aetate, 4)”(source)
Due to the prospect of being called anti-Semitic in today’s politically fragile atmosphere, Pope Francis seems to dance around the teaching so as not to appear politically incorrect, and in true 2024 fashion, remains vague. “Pope Francis’ views are too unclear to be interpreted.”(source).
The Covenant Theology of the Reformed Church and Presbyterian
Another view of national Israel (similar to Catholicism) can be found in Covenant or Reformed Theology. It holds to a deep continuity between the Old and New Testaments, and suggests that God's covenant with the Patriarchs continues through the Church, the true Israel.
While the Church is composed of both Jews and Gentiles, it is understood to be the continuation, or fulfillment of the promises made to Israel. The Church, in this view, is not exactly a replacement for Israel but the true continuation of God's people, now inclusive of Gentiles. There aren’t any specific and separate outcomes for national Israel particularly when interpreting future prophecies.
They teach that God’s covenant of the land, and any outstanding prophecies pointing to Israel, would no longer be applicable to national Israel, but instead belong to the Christian Church.
“The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.’ “(Genesis 13:14-16)
Dispensationalism (Evangelical Protestantism) - Distinction Between Israel and the Church
Dispensationalists theology teaches that there is a clear distinction between Israel and the Church, with separate roles and destinies. In this view, Israel remains God's chosen people, and God's promises to Israel (such as land, blessing, and a future kingdom) will be fulfilled in the future during a literal millennial reign of Christ. The Church, while included in God's redemptive plan, has a distinct role, and it does not replace Israel.
“As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.”(Romans 11:28).
In this view, "Israel" in the New Testament refers to the Jewish people and not the Church. Passages such as Romans 11, where Paul speaks of Israel's eventual salvation, are understood to mean that God will one day restore the Jewish people to a place of prominence and blessing.
“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. 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!”(Romans 11:11).
“…how much more will their full inclusion mean,” emphasizes that there is a future for Israel as a distinct people and nation in the fulfillment of God's promises, especially during the end times.
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionists believe that the Jewish people continue to hold a special place in God's plan, both in terms of the New Testament and in the modern world. They often interpret biblical prophecies (especially from the Old Testament) as predicting the restoration of Israel in the 20th century and see the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948 as a fulfillment of these prophecies.
“For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”(Jeremiah 30:3)
Christian Zionists do not believe the Church has replaced Israel, and they see a prophetic significance to the modern state of Israel, viewing it as a sign of God's ongoing covenant with the Jewish people. They may read passages like Romans 11 as the full restoration of Israel (including its spiritual awakening) will take place in the future.
The Messianic Jewish Perspective
Messianic Jews who believe in Jesus as their Messiah, tend to view Israel in the New Testament as both the Jewish people and the Church. They believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel, and that Jewish believers in Jesus are part of a remnant of Israel that continues God's covenant. They interpret New Testament references to Israel as pointing to both the Jewish people in general and to the remnant of Jews who follow Jesus.
The various Christian perspectives on who "Israel" is in the New Testament reflect broader theological debates about the relationship between the Old and New Covenants, the identity of the Church, and the role of the Jewish people in God's redemptive plan.
Either/Or
In Western Enlightenment thought, we have traditionally been conditioned to break life down into an either/or set of choices. Are you Democrat or Republican? Good or evil? True or False? This method helps us take very complex concepts and reduce them to a quick binary decision set.
Many things in life are simple and binary: Male/female, up/down, On/off, right/left. In recent times, we have challenged this way of thinking in a manner that confuses people, particularly when it comes to males and females as some kind of spectrum and personal choice.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”(Genesis 1:27).
Leaving that debate aside, the concept that everything must be a binary choice doesn’t necessarily fit when it comes to Scripture. Most of the Bible is simple to read on the surface, but complex when you begin to study it. Especially when it comes to Bible prophecy. God’s ways are not our ways.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”(Isaiah 55:9)
The Heart of the Matter - One Big Reason Why Israel’s Identity Matters to Us
When we look at the identity of Israel in the New Testament, our interpretation of all prophecy will be shaped by this idea. Is Israel still God’s elect? Has Israel been replaced? Or are we looking for a more complex answer? The path we take will shape our ability to interpret all the prophecies regarding the Last Days. This is one reason today many churches simply avoid studying prophecy; they see it as divisive and a waste of time.
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”(Revelation 22:18-19)
To be continued…
Today’s Question
Verses to Explore
“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”(Daniel 7:14)
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 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, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”(Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Today’s Prayer
Father I pray for your wisdom as we explore your Word and Israel’s place in it. I do not want to add to, or take away from any of your truth. It’s a sobering responsibility. Help us to to see your plan to the best of our understanding. Your Word is true but I know we can make a mess of it. Help us today to see beyond the teachings and ideas of men as your Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. Our primary goal is to glorify you in all we do and to see the hope that is set before us. In you we have peace and hope always. May all honor and glory be yours. Amen.❤️