How are the promises to Abraham fulfilled?
“The promises were made to Abraham . . . God bestowed it on Abraham through a promise” (Galatians 3:17,18 NAB). But how are the promises made to Abraham fulfilled?
“Those who have faith are =&0=&
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All genuine Christians, therefore inherit the blessings promised to Abraham.
“He was to be the father of all the uncircumcised who believe . . . as well as the father of the circumcised who . . . also follow the path of faith the our father Abraham walked”—-Romans 4:11,12 NABread more
Some today strongly believe that Jews are still God’s favored people. But, can anyone today prove they are a Jew?
In a sense, we can say that some of us Christians today are Americans, some are British, some are Hispanic, some are African, some are Chinese, etc. We can also say that some are male and some are female. We can also say that many are Gentiles, and a few are Jews.
In another sense, we can accurately say, that, for Christians, according to the scriptures, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:11 NIV).read more
Which Jerusalem for Christians – “Present”,”Above”, or “Heavenly”?
Many Christians today strongly feel that “Israel according to the flesh” (1 Corinthians 10:18NAB) is still ‘God’s chosen people”, and that the modern day Republic of Israel has a place in God’s purpose, and fulfilled Bible prophecy when it was established in 1948. They believe that Old Testament prophecies of the restoration of Israel are fulfilling and will be fulfilled in a physical, literal way. Which Jerusalem matters to Christians? This article will consider what the scriptures themselves say.read more
Over the centuries, there have been, and still are, many claims, assertions and theories, that after the northern Ten Tribe Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire in about the year 722 BCE, and then were deported to Assyria, they eventually became “lost”. There have been many volumes written about such ideas. Were the ten tribes of Israel really lost? Theories notwithstanding, what is important is what the Bible says. Let’s examine the claims in the light of the scriptures,
Were “the Ten Tribes of Israel” really lost?
and we’ll see if there is any validity to such assertions (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1)..
THE BACKGROUND
The original “twelve tribes of Israel” (Exodus 24:4) established by Almighty God were in a covenant relationship with him which promised them certain blessings and protections, in return for their strict obedience to the Law Covenant (Exodus 19:5-8; Leviticus 24:1-13). However, they were warned of the dire consequences of disobedience (Leviticus 24:14-39).
Gross apostasy on the part of Israel king Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-13) was punished by a split of the twelve tribe united Kingdom of Israel, circa 930 BCE, into two parts, with “Judah and the tribe of Benjamin” (1 Kings 12:16-24) making up the southern two tribe kingdom, and the other “ten tribes” (1 Kings 11:31,35) making up the northern kingdom.
In flagrant violation of the Law Covenant, “the ten tribes” “worshipped other gods, they followed the practices of the nations whom Yahweh had disposed” (2 Kings 17:7,8 NJB). As a result, Yahweh allowed the terms of the covenant to be carried out in punishment, but not all at once.
BEFORE THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY
During the reign of good king Asa of Judah, circa 900 BCE, there was a flow of “many people” from the northern ten tribe kingdom of Israel, into the southern two tribe kingdom of Judah. We read:
“He summoned all Judah and Benjamin as well as those Ephraimites, Manassehites and Simeonites who had settled with them—for a great many people from =&0=&
From this we learn that “many people” from Israel at this early stage of the ten tribe kingdom were already living in the southern two tribe kingdom.
“In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of =&1=&
This first deportation from the northern ten tribe kingdom into Assyria was late in Pekah’s reign, circa 730 BCE. The second, and final deportation, is described as follows:
THE CONQUEST AND CAPTIVITY
“In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria . . . So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there”—2 Kings 17:6, 23 NIV
The above seems to indicate that there was an en masse total deportation, and that also the Israelites who were deported from their ten tribes may never have returned to their homeland, which is likely true. However, from the scriptures we also learn that not all of the Israelites who lived in the northern ten tribe kingdom were deported from their native soil in Israel, so there was not not a total en masse deportation. However, notice something else that happened:
“The king of Assyria brought people from =&2=&
This sounds like the Israelites who were living in the land of the ten tribe northern kingdom were entirely replaced by foreign people that the king of Assyria brought in to live and take possession of the land. However, other scriptures reveal that was not the case, as we shall see from looking at other scriptures.
AFTER THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY
“Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Mansseh, bidding them to come to the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of Yahweh, God of Israel. The courtiers went from town to town through the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but the people laughed and scoffed at them; even so, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun were humble enough to come to =&3=&
There is much being made these days by some Christians about the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran war as being a signal of “the end time” (Jude 18 HCSB). (For more detailed background information on this subject, please take a look at the Category headings: “End of the World,” and “Israel,” on this site.)
However, the Bible indicates that “old covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:14) with “Israel according to the flesh” (1 Corinthians 6:18 NKJV) was “cancelled” (Ephesians 2:14 NLT), and “replaced” (2 Corinthians 3:11 NLT) by his “new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15) with the Christian “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15,16 NIV), which has Jesus Christ as its “high priest” and “mediator” (Hebrews 9:11,15). Indeed, according to the scriptures, “the kingdom of God” was “taken away from” fleshly Israel, “and given to a people, producing the fruit of it” (Matthew 21:43 NASB), that is, to Christians in the “new covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:6).read more
Due to the fierce fighting that has been going on in Israel and Gaza lately, there is much keen interest in Israel and the Bible. Below are some articles on this website about Israel and the Bible:
“Should We Pray for Israel?”
“Does Modern Israel fulfill Bible Prophecy?”
“Are Restoration Prophecies About Israel Literal — Or Symbolic?”
Does modern Israel fulfill Bible prophecy? Should we pray for Israel?
Many Christians strongly believe that modern day Israel is “God’s Chosen People,” and that Jews en masse will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before the end. Based on this viewpoint, they pray for modern day Israel. But, should we pray for Israel? To get the correct Biblical view in answer to this question, we need to understand and view the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, and not the other way around. People often misunderstand and mistinterpret the scriptures by doing this.read more
Are Restoration Prophecies About Israel Literal – or Symbolic?
The majority of Biblical commentators and preachers take the restoration prophecies about Israel literally, so many Christians today think that the modern-day Republic of Israel is fulfilling Bible prophecies. However, a careful analysis of the Bible, especially the New Testament, shows that this is not the case at all. Please keep in mind, however, that a symbolic or spiritual fulfillment does not mean not real or not true. All Bible prophecies are real and true!
When the first Christians miraculously spoke in foreign languages (Acts 2:1-12), “Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘they have had too much wine.’ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd . . . ‘No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people”‘” (Acts 2:13-17 NIV). Peter, under God’s direction through the Holy Spirit, applies Joel 2:28-32 about the spirit poured out on all people as being fulfilled right then and there, “In the last days”. Peter’s quote from Joel 2:28,29 was fulfilled on that Pentecost Day, but not literally. Peter (and Luke, the Bible writer) includes this part of Joel’s prophecy also:
“I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:19-20 NIV, which quotes Joel 2:30,31)
There were no literal, physical signs, on Pentecost Day fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, such as “fire”, “smoke”, ‘sun going dark’, or ‘the moon turned to blood’. This highly figurative language shows that God does indeed intervene in history, and does miraculous things, and that is what is symbolized by the cosmic language of Joel 2:30,31.
“After much discussion” (Acts 15:17 NIV) about the assertion that “Unless you are circumcised, according to the the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1 NIV), “James spoke up” (Acts 15:13 NIV). He stated the fact that “God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles” (Acts 15:14 NIV). James then quotes Amos 9:11, as an accurate prediction of the reality that “God made a choice . . . that the Gentiles might hear . . . the gospel and believe. God . . . showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them” (Acts 15:7-9 NIV):
“‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild and I will restore it'” (Acts 15:15 NIV).
This restoration prophecy of Israel at Amos 9:11 is clearly applied to the spiritual “Israel of God”, the Christian church comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. “David’s fallen tent” is an obvious reference to fleshly Israel in its Old Covenant relationship with God, which has been “=&0=&. The ‘rebuilding of it’ is the New Covenant relationship of the church, in covenant with God, mediated by Christ (Hebrews 9:15; 1 Timothy 2:5). But there is no literal rebuilding of a fallen tent from ruins, etc! This leads to the main point, as James quotes Amos 9:12 from the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX):
“‘That the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—things known from long ago” (Acts 15:16-18 NIV). By quoting both Amos 9:11 and Amos 9:12, James is showing that restoration prophecies of Israel are accomplished by bringing the Gentiles into the Church on an equal status basis with the Jews. The house of David is rebuilt, not with physical Jews, but with spiritual Jews, the Christian “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15,16 NIV), some of whom are physical Jews, and the rest, the vast majority, are physical Gentiles, non-Jews.
“A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart , by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Romans 2:28,29 NIV). What one is outwardly, in the flesh, no longer matters (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-18; Colossians 3:11). These and other NT scriptures give very strong proof that the restoration prophecies about Israel are real, but they are not literal, they are spiritual.
“The ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6 NIV). The New Covenant is thus affirmed to be highly superior to the Old Covenant, “which has been replaced” (2 Corinthians 3:11 NLT). The writer, likely Paul, quotes from Jeremiah’s prophecy to demonstrate the point:
“I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” (Hebrews 8:8 NIV). On the surface, it looks like the New Covenant is made with Jews only. However, by stating that the covenant is made with both Israel and Judah, the fact is emphasized that God’s people will again be united, not divided. We’ve already seen from Romans 2:28,29 (above) that the New Covenant is made with spiritual Jews, not fleshly, Jews. Also, notice:
“Understand, then, those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed together along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7-9 NIV). Taken together, the New Testament scriptures, combined with the prophecies of the Old Testament, clearly show that the restoration prophecies of Israel are fulfilled spiritually, not literally., with the Christian “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15,16 NIV). “The Church is the true Israel, the recipient of God’s promises, which goes out to all nations in the power of Christ” (New Jerusalem Bible, Pocket Edition, Introduction to Matthew).
Paul said that all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, who follow the Christian way, comprise “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16 NIV).
Peter wrote that Christians:
“Are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special =&1=&Peter says that Christians are ” a chosen people”, which was predicted by Isaiah: “My people, my chosen” (Isaiah 43:20 NIV).
Peter says Christians are “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession”, which fulfills the prediction at Exodus 19:5,6: ” If you obey me fully and keep my =&2=&(NIV), and Malachi 3:17: “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, when I take action. I will have compassion on them” (NAB).
Why can we say for certain that what was promised to fleshly Israel was given to spiritual Israel?
“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you (fleshly Israel in the Old Covenant) and given to a people who will produce its fruit (spiritual Israel in the New Covenant)” (Matthew 21:43 NIV).
” But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were ‘no people’ but now you are God’s people; you ‘had not received mercy’ but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9,10 NAB). “The prerogatives of ancient Israel mentioned here are now more fully and fittingly applied to the Christian people” (NAB note on 1 Peter 2:9,10).
Peter says that non-Jews they were “once . . . not a people” who had “once not received mercy”, but “now . . . are the people of God”, who “now . . . have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10 NIV.
This fulfills the predictions of:
“You are not my people, and I am not your God” (Hosea 1:9 NIV).
“Say of your brothers, ‘My people'” (Hosea 2:1 NIV).
“I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’, and they will say, ‘You are my God'” (Hosea 2:23 NIV).
“Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people” (Jeremiah 7:23 NIV; also 11:4; 30:22).
“I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23 NIV).
These scriptures originally applied to God’s Law Covenant with the people of Israel. However, Peter applies them to the church, made up of spiritual Jews, who are Jews and Gentiles in the flesh (Romans 2:28,29). Peter addressed the letter to Christians living in five provinces of Asia Minor, 1 Peter, which was a largely Gentile area (1 Peter 1:1). We can confirm that Peter was indeed writing to a predominantly Gentile audience from the following scriptures:
“Do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14 NIV).
“You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors” (1 Peter 1:18 NIV).
“You have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” ( 1 Peter 4:3 NIV).
Christians, who are mostly Gentiles, “are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5 NIV). God has blessed the church with the blessings promised to “Israel” in the Old Testament (OT)!
Many assert that Romans 11 promises the national restoration of fleshly Israel to God’s special favor, including the land fully restored to Israel, rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple, and a visible rule of Christ enthroned in Jerusalem. Romans 11 says nothing about any of this. NT writers correctly saw spiritual fulfillment of OT prophecies. John the Baptist fulfilled: “Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him” (Malachi 4:5,6; Matthew 17:11-13 NIV). The promise to David that his son would establish an eternal kingdom was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Acts 2:29-36; 13:29-38). Christians living back then and us today “have already come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22 NIV). The NT interprets OT restoration prophecies as already fulfilled in Christ and the gospel.
“Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made them a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross . . . The reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:15,17b NIV). Interpreting Old Testament prophecies about Israel’s restoration literally minimizes the important work of Christ in his first coming, and, in effect, shifts major attention from Christ’s first coming to his second coming.
“By this gospel you are saved . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared . . . ” (1 Corinthians 15:2-5 NIV).
Spiritual, not fleshly, descendants of Abraham are the real Israel that counts with God
Who was God talking about when he made the promise to Abraham about his seed? Was the promise only referring to his physical offspring? Or, is there such a thing as “Spiritual Israel?”
“Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,’ though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.” (Romans 9:6-8 NLT)
The key point to keep in mind is that “Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God”. The “children of the promise” are spiritual – not fleshly – descendants of Abraham.
“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.” (Ephesians 3:6 NIV, emphasis added)
The three uses of the word “together” here indicate the unique aspect of the equality and mutuality that Gentiles have in the church with Jews as one body. “Israel,” as used here in Ephesians 3:6, represents Jewish Christians.
“Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule–to the Israel of God”—(Galatians 6:16 NIV)
The church is the true Israel, “the Israel of God,” the new seed of Abraham.
“The Kingdom of Heaven, still to be completed, but already strongly associated with the community which Jesus founded, is the fulfillment of God’s plan for Israel. So the Church is the true Israel, the recipient of God’s promises, which goes out to all nations in the power of Chrible” (Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew, New Jerusalem Bible [NJB]). “It is stressed that Christianity is the logical outcome of Judaism and is in conformity with it” (Introduction to Acts, NJB).read more
Restoration is through Jesus Christ, not modern fleshly Israel, but to the “Israel of God,” and would come first to Jews, then all others would be blessed.
“Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God”—Galatians 5:15-16 GWT
What is, “the Israel of God”?
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”—Romans 1:16 NIV
“A person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God”—Romans 2:28,29 NIV
The New Testament makes clear that whether a person is a fleshly Jew or not, no longer makes any difference to God.
Let’s examine some Old Testament prophecies concerning the restoration of “Israel” through God’s “servant David”, a cryptic name for Jesus.
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There is much being made these days by some Christians about the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran war as being a signal of “the end time” (Jude 18 HCSB). (For more detailed background information on this subject, please take a look at the Category headings: “End of the World,” and “Israel,” on this site.)
