Jesus Christ "IS" Israel, that we grafted into it...in Him. Not national Israel. Once the building of the church is finished, there will not be any more salvation after this. Therefore, there won't be national salvation for national Israel in the Middle East in the future as premillennialists believe. Sorry.
Right from the beginning, Christ was God’s promised seed. He was the elect one. He was the perfect personification of the divine blueprint for obedient servanthood and holy living. He was Israel’s ultimate prophet, priest and king. All others were a pale, imperfect and at times a corrupted representation of Him. The nation also habitually fell short of its mission to be a faithful witness of Yahweh. It fell short of its earthly calling through constant rebellion and repeated offence. Christ alone performed a service that no other creature could undertake. The prophet ably describes Him in Isaiah 42:1 as
“My servant, whom I uphold, my elect one in whom I delight."
Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and their taking of the Promised Land, gave them the autonomy they desired and needed. They were now independent of the bondage of slavery. But Israel as a national theocratic people only existed (in between Moses and Christ) as an earthly temporary prelude and foreshadowing of the coming Messiah and the creation of the new covenant arrangement – where no ethnic distinctions existed.
We see the same truth in Isaiah 49:1-6. There, the “servant” mentioned is identified in verse 1 as “Israel” (“Thou art my servant, O Israel”). But it is notable who the prophet addresses his message to. It is to the Gentiles: “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far.” Also, this servant is responsible for bringing salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. He predicts: “It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth (v6). There can be little doubt through the wording that this alludes to Christ and His monumental first advent. Most commentators rightly acknowledge this to be a Messianic passage. Only Christ could fulfil such a monumental task.
Christ is the manifest embodiment of true Israel. Jesus is presented here in clear tones by the prophet Isaiah as true Israel, through whom salvation is experienced. Notably, that realization relates to both Jews and Gentiles. Israel is shown to be open to all who receive Jesus Christ. Christ is the representative head of the corporate spiritual body. This reminds us that true Israel is a spiritual designation pertaining to a spiritual people, who embrace the Messiah, wherever they are found.
The usage of the term “servant” is another example of biblical dualism. This description is applied to both the nation of Israel and the Messiah in the Old Testament. We see this especially in the prophetic book of Isaiah. In some texts the servant is Israel, in others it is a reference to the coming Messiah. Isaiah initially identifies God’s servant as Israel (41:8-9 & 44:1–2). He serves as God’s witness (43:10) and as a light to the Gentiles (9:2-7, 42:6 & 49:6). In other passages we have a record of the Messiah bringing Israel back to God (42:1, 49:6 & 53:11). The servant here is the Messiah. He is represented as the ultimate personification of the nation. But He didn’t come in military power, as many expected, but as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53:3-12, Daniel 9:24-26, Ezekiel 36:26-27, 37:26-28, Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Zechariah 12:10).
It is not just that He possessed all the spiritual attributes ascribed to Jacob (Israel), albeit in a perfected form, but Matthew shows (in Matthew 2:14-15) direct evidence that our Lord’s flight into the land Egypt and subsequent return to Palestine fulfills a prophecy recorded in Hosea 11:1 pertaining to Israel. Matthew 2:14-15 records of Joseph:
“he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Matthew essentially uses Israel’s history as a point of reference, and identification, between Israel and the nation’s Messiah. The apostle here spiritually connects the story of Jesus to the story of Israel, to give Israel’s history a new depth of meaning. National Israel serves a typology of Jesus Christ. What happened with God’s son (Israel), so it happened with God’s greater Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Dennis J. McCarthy suggests: “We have, then, an idea of father-son relationship which is essentially that of the covenant” (Old Testament Covenant).
Jesus the Messiah fulfilled all the conditions, hopes and expectations for ethic Israel. He did what they could never do. He lived a sinless life and thus perfectly fulfilled God’s holy law. He also died an atoning death on man’s behalf so that we could be reconciled unto an offended God. In doing so, He accomplished every righteous demand that the Father made of Him thus making Him faithful Israel. He was Israel’s representative. He was man’s advocate and substitute. He is the only one who ever kept God’s covenant perfectly, and He is the only one, on merit, who inherits the full blessings of God's covenant. He therefore unlocks all of the promises and blessings of God and shares them with His people. As true Israel, all those united to Him find their identity in Him.
Galatians 3:13-14 teaches:
“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.”
Verse 16 continues,
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds (plural),
as of many; but as of one (single),
and to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Paul the Apostle looks back here to the covenant promise made with Abraham in Genesis and shows us who it applies to. Paul attributes the fulfilment of the promise to Christ, and not physical Israel. Our Savior is presented as the true seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). Jesus the Messiah is the only seed of Abraham through whom the nations have been, and will be, blessed. Those who have put their faith in the Christ (the redeemed congregation) are presented here as Abraham’s offspring (Galatians 3:7 and Romans 4:11, 16). These include the people of God (Jew and Gentile) in both the Old Testament and the New Testament – all those who have put their trust in Jesus. There is no alternative explanation here!
The Messianic blessing for the entire world would come through the offspring of Abraham. The blessing promised to Abraham is centered on the person of Christ. Jesus has brought about the fulfillment of the covenant promise to Abraham. He is the realization of every single Old Testament covenant. God’s covenant with Abraham is to his seed (singular) not to his seeds (plural). And the singular seed of Abraham to whom the promises to Abraham pertain is Christ. The nation of Israel and the old covenant arrangement that God made with them were ultimately a means to the end of furnishing us a Savior.
Israel took on a more nationalistic character under Moses. After years of living in the land of Egypt, the children of Israel grew to such a significant number as an ethnic people group that they became a serious threat to Egypt. The Hebrews had become so well established in Egypt, and were such a significant racial, political and cultural entity, that it was perceived by the Egyptians as an increasing liability. They had been in Egypt for generations, and had become so numerous, that Pharaoh feared them. He was concerned that the descendants of Jacob would keep expanding in number and strength and increasingly become a threat to Egypt’s security. He thus forced them to become his slaves and harshly punished them. Notwithstanding, at this stage they were still an ethnic group rather than an organized state.
While the overriding meaning of true Israel is spiritual, the term Israel took on a broader natural identity over the years. That name became a national designation for all those who belonged to the natural lineage of Abraham, who gave outward allegiance to Israel’s God, and were part of the visible assembly of the nation, whether by birth or personal choice. While Israel consisted overwhelmingly of the direct physical descendants of Abraham, many Gentiles who accepted Israel’s God and desired to become part of the covenant community were considered Israeli (see Isaiah 56:1-8 and Ezekiel 47:22–23). Christian Zionists Monte Judah and Eddie Chumney even admit: “Together, the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob along with the mixed multitude are called the house of Jacob (Exodus 19:3).”
To be viewed as a natural Israeli, men were required to be circumcised as an outward sign of loyalty to the living God and also commit to the old covenant ceremonial arrangement. This was a visible proof of submission and obedience. But this did not automatically equate to a real inward spiritual relationship, and therefore participation in true spiritual Israel – the redeemed of God. Old Testament Scriptures shows that there were many unbelievers who abode within the national covenant. There was always a visible congregation of outward professing Israelis, and an invisible community of true elect believers – the faithful remnant. This is confirmed in Romans 9:6. The visible community related to those who outwardly gave allegiance to the Jewish religion, including its traditions, feasts, and temple ordinances. The visible assembly contains both believers and nonbelievers. The invisible community was the sum total of the elect in Israel, who were spiritually transformed and truly known of God.
We should never forget, Israel was never intended to be an exclusive ethnic club. This is seen by the many Gentiles that became part of Israel under the old covenant. God always intended Israel to be a spiritual entity that would reach the nations. Christ (true Israel) was man’s only hope of salvation. Since His earthly life, the Gospel went out to all nations, seeing countless Gentiles ushered into an intimate covenant relationship with the Messiah. Israel was ordained to become a massive international family.
The Bible student should pause and recognize that Christ was, and is, the center-point of human existence. He was the only one qualified to take man’s sinful hand and reconcile him to a holy God. He is not just the New Testament Savior, He was also the Old Testament Savior. In Matthew 22:42 Jesus asked the religious Pharisees: “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” Christ was here specifically referring to the great mystery of His eternal Sonship (or His pre-existence in all eternity) – a truth that evidently perplexed the religious Pharisees. They had no comprehension that He was both before and after David. The answer to the enquiry was that He was before David (being the source of David) in His divine office as the eternal Son of God; therefore, David called Him Lord. Jesus was not just “the offspring of David,” he was also “the root” of David (Revelation 22:12-16).
We see the international scope of the salvation plan in God’s promise to Jacob in Genesis 35:10-11:
“And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.”
After changing his natural name to a spiritual name, God immediately predicted that nations will be of Israel (
gôy and
qâhâl gôy). The Hebrew word
qâhâl means assembly, company, congregation, multitude. This literal describes a nation (natural Israel) and a congregation of nations (spiritual Israel). Clearly, the integration of the Gentiles into Israel was God’s ultimate plan from the very beginning.
Isaiah 27:6 declares:
“He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”
According to Holy Writ, those who become part of Israel will assuredly take root. There is clearly a sense of enjoinment in this text. Israel would decisively expand her influence throughout the globe. She would likewise be fruitful. This is talking about a worldwide community of believers. Those who have received Christ have taken spiritual root and have consequently blossomed throughout the nations.
When you consider the meaning of the word “Israel” and how it ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, it forces us to ask, what people, then, today, could possibly meet the criteria and designation of true Israel? It has to be a spiritual people, because that is, ultimately, the core sense of the word. But it also must be a company that recognizes, identifies and embraces Christ (true Israel). That certainly isn’t natural Israel over this past 2000 years. It was them that rejected Him and nailed Him to a tree. What is more, this company is not limited to the Middle East but is rather expressly found throughout “the world” (Isaiah 27:6) and relates to “a company of nations” (Genesis 35:10-11).
True Israel today can only refer to God’s redeemed people (of all nations), the New Testament congregation. Only they can meet the description. They alone belong to Christ. Only they are His ambassadors on this earth. Only they enjoy favor with God and with man. Scripture proves that Gentile believers would be thoroughly blended into the harmonious whole of faithful Israel. This is supported many Old Testament prophecies that tells us that Israel will be enjoined by others and will incorporate the nations. This is talking about the full spiritual expanse of true Israel. If one is in Christ they belong to spiritual Israel.
