Post by Josh on Jan 29, 2007 18:00:09 GMT -8
Israel and the Church (originally posted 12/17/05, updated 4/01/06, 11/14/06, 12/11/11)
by Joshua Coles, MS
Someone recently brought up Ezekiel 38 and 39, prophetic passages about Israel's future, in a discussion with me about eschatology (or, the study of the ‘last things’). In the passage, Israel is said to be attacked by powerful enemies known as ‘Gog and Magog’ and God utterly destroys these enemies in a climactic showdown.
The same story (the short version) is told in Revelation 20:7-9, where the nations are inspired by Satan to attack the 'camp of God's people, the city He loves', indicating that it is the last thing that will happen before the final judgment.
I am convinced from Scripture that the Church is the true fulfillment of Israel's promises and hopes. So, promises about Israel's future (after the first coming of Christ) are normally interpreted (by the first Christians) as things fulfilled in the Church age.
Thus, in this passage about ‘Gog and Magog’ from both Ezekiel and Revelation, I think "Israel and the city He loves" isn't some future earthly 'state of Israel', but us, the Church. But to make that argument sound, we‘re going to have to take a tour through the New Testament.
First off, this 'redefining of terms' I'm referring to (Israel= the Church, etc.) was definitely the a major fixation of the New Testament writers. What follows is a strong case demonstrating that the first Christians claimed that:
1.The true Israel is the Church
2.The true Jerusalem is the Church
3.The true Temple is the Church/Jesus
A little more in the way of clarification, before we dive into the verses: What I’m saying is that it is of the utmost importance when interpreting OT prophecies about Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, Mt. Zion, etc.. that don't have an obvious fulfillment in OT history, to understand that the New Testament authors argued that those terms are equivalent to the Church, so they therefore looked for their fulfillment in the Church. So, most, if not all, prophecies about those things that were not fulfilled by the time of Christ, were fulfilled in the Church, and are not to be viewed as having to do with a future state of Israel. There may be a few exceptions to this; i.e., that the actual future state of Israel may still be referred to in some prophecies, but even then, certainly, most are really about the Church.
There are two contrasting views of eschatology which might need a bit of an outline here:
First there's the Premillenial Dispensationalist position, which:
1. Expects future, physical fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies about Israel, including the anticipation of a rebuilt temple and temple sacrifices and a national, territorial reign of Christ
2. Sometimes, but certainly not most of the time, propounds a ‘two people of God’ theory (one salvation plan for the Gentiles and another for the Jews)
This contrasts with the view I'm advocating, which would roughly be called teh Amillenial Partial Preterist position, which among other things:
1. Advocates for ‘one people of God’ , both Jew and Gentile
2. Sees most (or all) prophecies in the Old Testament about Israel that were not fulfilled by the time of Jesus as actually speaking of the Church
3. Stresses that Christ and the Church reign decisively now
So, on to my three points and the verses that evidence them:
1) The True Israel is the Church (not the physical nation)
Romans 9:6-8
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.
Romans 2:28
28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
Matthew 21:43
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matthew 3:9
9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Galatians 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:2-6,10-11
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 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.
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
see also John 8:12-47 and Romans 11
2) The True Jerusalem is the Church, the Bride of Christ (and therefore not a physical city)
To make this point, a logical chain must be developed:
A) Jesus is called the Bridegroom:
Mark 2:19-20 (and parallel passages in all 4 gospels)
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
Matthew 25:5
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
B) The Church is the Bride:
Ephesians 5:25-27,32
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 32 This is a profound mystery- but I am talking about Christ and the church.
C) The Bride is equivalent to the "New Jerusalem", so the "New Jerusalem" is the Church (not a physical city):
Revelation 21:2,9-10
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Galatians 4:26
26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
John 18:36
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Luke 17:20-21
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
D) Mt. Zion/Jerusalem now becomes the Church:
Hebrews 12:22-23a
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
Hebrews 13:14
14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
This is backed up by ideas already latent in the Old Testament, such as this one from Isaiah 60:14:
The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Note that the people of God are called the City/ Zion, not a physical place.
3.The True Temple is the Church/ Jesus, not a building:
John 2:19-21
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
Acts 17:24
24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
Revelation 21:22
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
2 Corinthians 6:16b
For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
Conclusion
Now, again, there are a handful of verses in the OT and NT that may speak about the future of the earthly Israelites and the race of Jews, but I've come to believe that most are really about the Church, the true Israel, which is comprised of both physical Jews and Gentiles.
Why is all this important? Well, for a couple of reasons.
1) It helps us clarify our views on eschatology, which directly affect how we live our Christian lives- I hope to comment at this at some length later.
2) It helps us see the relevance and signficance of Old Testament passages and their relation to the Church. As a great excercise on this, read Isaiah 54:1-56:8 and Isaiah 60:1-62:12, (or Psalm 48 for that matter) in light of the New Testament interpretations of the phrases Israel, Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, and the Temple- not to mention the New Testament reinterpration of concepts such as sacrifices. I challenge you to read these passages with the fresh perspective (even if it requires a suspension of belief) that they are speaking of us, the Church, the Kingdom of God that will have no end and not some future temporal, physical kingdom.
I have to say, discovering how the New Testament authors redefined these terms (Israel, Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, and Temple) has totally revolutionized my reading of Scripture. I am so excited to be reading through the Prophets with this "key" to unlock their meanings. I just can't believe I've been reading the Bible so long and never before saw this. The Old Testament hardly seems to make any sense without this realization.
3) It helps us live “Kingdom Now”, realizing what it means to ‘reign with Christ’ as His Church now (Eph. 2:6-7). This also needs further comment. Our role in the world is not to hide and wait for an apocalypse, but to pray and work toward the marriage of heaven and earth (Matthew 6:10). We know that only the final return of Christ and the final judgment will finalize that process (1 Cor. 15:24-26), but we are to be actively engaged in the further establishment of His kingdom- making a real difference in the world in which we live.
by Joshua Coles, MS
Someone recently brought up Ezekiel 38 and 39, prophetic passages about Israel's future, in a discussion with me about eschatology (or, the study of the ‘last things’). In the passage, Israel is said to be attacked by powerful enemies known as ‘Gog and Magog’ and God utterly destroys these enemies in a climactic showdown.
The same story (the short version) is told in Revelation 20:7-9, where the nations are inspired by Satan to attack the 'camp of God's people, the city He loves', indicating that it is the last thing that will happen before the final judgment.
I am convinced from Scripture that the Church is the true fulfillment of Israel's promises and hopes. So, promises about Israel's future (after the first coming of Christ) are normally interpreted (by the first Christians) as things fulfilled in the Church age.
Thus, in this passage about ‘Gog and Magog’ from both Ezekiel and Revelation, I think "Israel and the city He loves" isn't some future earthly 'state of Israel', but us, the Church. But to make that argument sound, we‘re going to have to take a tour through the New Testament.
First off, this 'redefining of terms' I'm referring to (Israel= the Church, etc.) was definitely the a major fixation of the New Testament writers. What follows is a strong case demonstrating that the first Christians claimed that:
1.The true Israel is the Church
2.The true Jerusalem is the Church
3.The true Temple is the Church/Jesus
A little more in the way of clarification, before we dive into the verses: What I’m saying is that it is of the utmost importance when interpreting OT prophecies about Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, Mt. Zion, etc.. that don't have an obvious fulfillment in OT history, to understand that the New Testament authors argued that those terms are equivalent to the Church, so they therefore looked for their fulfillment in the Church. So, most, if not all, prophecies about those things that were not fulfilled by the time of Christ, were fulfilled in the Church, and are not to be viewed as having to do with a future state of Israel. There may be a few exceptions to this; i.e., that the actual future state of Israel may still be referred to in some prophecies, but even then, certainly, most are really about the Church.
There are two contrasting views of eschatology which might need a bit of an outline here:
First there's the Premillenial Dispensationalist position, which:
1. Expects future, physical fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies about Israel, including the anticipation of a rebuilt temple and temple sacrifices and a national, territorial reign of Christ
2. Sometimes, but certainly not most of the time, propounds a ‘two people of God’ theory (one salvation plan for the Gentiles and another for the Jews)
This contrasts with the view I'm advocating, which would roughly be called teh Amillenial Partial Preterist position, which among other things:
1. Advocates for ‘one people of God’ , both Jew and Gentile
2. Sees most (or all) prophecies in the Old Testament about Israel that were not fulfilled by the time of Jesus as actually speaking of the Church
3. Stresses that Christ and the Church reign decisively now
So, on to my three points and the verses that evidence them:
1) The True Israel is the Church (not the physical nation)
Romans 9:6-8
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.
Romans 2:28
28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
Matthew 21:43
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matthew 3:9
9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Galatians 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:2-6,10-11
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 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.
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
see also John 8:12-47 and Romans 11
2) The True Jerusalem is the Church, the Bride of Christ (and therefore not a physical city)
To make this point, a logical chain must be developed:
A) Jesus is called the Bridegroom:
Mark 2:19-20 (and parallel passages in all 4 gospels)
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
Matthew 25:5
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
B) The Church is the Bride:
Ephesians 5:25-27,32
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 32 This is a profound mystery- but I am talking about Christ and the church.
C) The Bride is equivalent to the "New Jerusalem", so the "New Jerusalem" is the Church (not a physical city):
Revelation 21:2,9-10
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Galatians 4:26
26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
John 18:36
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Luke 17:20-21
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
D) Mt. Zion/Jerusalem now becomes the Church:
Hebrews 12:22-23a
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
Hebrews 13:14
14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
This is backed up by ideas already latent in the Old Testament, such as this one from Isaiah 60:14:
The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Note that the people of God are called the City/ Zion, not a physical place.
3.The True Temple is the Church/ Jesus, not a building:
John 2:19-21
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
Acts 17:24
24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
Revelation 21:22
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
2 Corinthians 6:16b
For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
Conclusion
Now, again, there are a handful of verses in the OT and NT that may speak about the future of the earthly Israelites and the race of Jews, but I've come to believe that most are really about the Church, the true Israel, which is comprised of both physical Jews and Gentiles.
Why is all this important? Well, for a couple of reasons.
1) It helps us clarify our views on eschatology, which directly affect how we live our Christian lives- I hope to comment at this at some length later.
2) It helps us see the relevance and signficance of Old Testament passages and their relation to the Church. As a great excercise on this, read Isaiah 54:1-56:8 and Isaiah 60:1-62:12, (or Psalm 48 for that matter) in light of the New Testament interpretations of the phrases Israel, Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, and the Temple- not to mention the New Testament reinterpration of concepts such as sacrifices. I challenge you to read these passages with the fresh perspective (even if it requires a suspension of belief) that they are speaking of us, the Church, the Kingdom of God that will have no end and not some future temporal, physical kingdom.
I have to say, discovering how the New Testament authors redefined these terms (Israel, Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, and Temple) has totally revolutionized my reading of Scripture. I am so excited to be reading through the Prophets with this "key" to unlock their meanings. I just can't believe I've been reading the Bible so long and never before saw this. The Old Testament hardly seems to make any sense without this realization.
3) It helps us live “Kingdom Now”, realizing what it means to ‘reign with Christ’ as His Church now (Eph. 2:6-7). This also needs further comment. Our role in the world is not to hide and wait for an apocalypse, but to pray and work toward the marriage of heaven and earth (Matthew 6:10). We know that only the final return of Christ and the final judgment will finalize that process (1 Cor. 15:24-26), but we are to be actively engaged in the further establishment of His kingdom- making a real difference in the world in which we live.
