Hi LastSeven,
The kingdom/rule of God is over all. God never gave the realms over, He always owned heaven & earth, however it is the rebellious rulership that is being dealt with. So as to the promises, they are specific to the Body of Christ and also to Israel.
As you see them the same, can you please tell me what are the promises to us, our inheritance?
Marilyn.
There's different promises God gave to different groups in His Word. The promises He gave to the seed of Israel is about His birthright promises which were first given through Abraham, then transferred to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and finally to Joseph's two sons Ephraim and Manasseh (1 Chronicles 5).
God's Birthright includes:
1. as many seed as the stars of the sky and sands of the sea; as the dust of the earth (Gen.22:17; Gen.28:14)
2. in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (this about The Gospel which was first preached to Abraham, 430 years before the law of Moses being given.)
3. the dew of heaven, fatness of the earth, plenty of corn and wine (Gen.27:28)
4. thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies (Gen.22:17)
5. a king of the house of David sitting upon the throne
The number of Israelites of the ten northern tribes of Israel far outnumbered the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin before God split Solomon's kingdom in two. Even thought the ten tribes were scattered and history has lost them, they still exist and will return and they are actually ones who fulfill this Genesis promise of being as many as the dust of the earth, literally. Thing is, they have a heritage from old Israel, but they are not Jews.
The Title Jew:
Per the Jewish historian Josephus, the title of Jew was the title the small remnant of the "house of Judah" called themselves when they returned to Jerusalem from the 70 years Babylon captivity. He said all those living in the lands of Judea took that title, and said it was derived from the name Judah. This is why Apostle Paul would claim the title of Jew even though he was born of the tribe of Benjamin. It was because the tribe of Benjamin was joined with the tribe of Judah when the kingdom was split (1 Kings 11 - 12).
For those who have read their OT history, you should know the ten tribes of the northern kingdom were removed from the land prior... to Judah going captive to Babylon for 70 years (2 Kings 17). So it's impossible to apply that title of Jew to the ten northern tribes of Israel. Yet the ten tribes are Israelites too.
So looking at the birthright promises again from God:
1. they fell upon Joseph's two sons in final, and primarily
1 Chron 5:1-2
5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's
KJV
Jer 31:6
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
KJV
Jer 31:9
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
KJV
That "Ephraim is My firstborn" is because that is where God's birthright fell in final among the children of Israel.
Thus the majority of the promises would fall upon Joseph's two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, not Judah and Benjamin. Is there proof of this through history after Jesus died on the cross and was rejected by the majority of Jews? Yes!
What nations through history have been blessed with the best areas of the earth for natural resources, and produce much more food than they could ever consume? Truly, the western Christian nations. Does the nation state of Israel today have that? No, even though they do well by God's blessings. But clearly, the main producers have been in the west.
What nations control the seas, and the gates of their enemies going and coming? The western Christian nations. Though Bill Clinton allowed China to run the Panama Canal, the U.S. built it and still has quite a bit of say of who all goes through it. Same goes for the Suez and the British. The western Christian nations still have the greatest navies to control the seas. Does the nation state of Israel have that? No.
I don't think we need to argue the point about great number of seed, because if the identity of the ten tribes of Israel were known today, they would way outnumber the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
The western Christian nations have kings upon thrones. They used to have even more kings and queens prior to the Communist revolution, and French revolution. And with all the bad media programs drummed up by Leftists who hate the idea of monarchs, Christ's enemies want you to hate them too, when Christ's Kingdom to come will be the ultimate Monarchy on earth. Does the nation state of Israel have a monarch today in Jerusalem? No.
Per 1 Kings 11, God promised He would leave one tribe in Jerusalem for His servant David's sake and for Jerusalem. Even during the Babylon captivity there was a small poor remnant of Judah still left there. The majority of the Jews captive to Babylon did not return to Jerusalem after the 70 years, but were further scattered through the nations like the ten tribes were. This is still... where things are today, i.e., the majority of the house of Judah is still scattered in the nations along with the ten tribes. The Jews never lost their heritage as part of Israel, but most of the ten tribes did.
