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
Should We Observe “Yom Kippur,” “the Day of Atonement”?
Every year, “Yom Kippur,” “the Day of Atonement” is observed by practicing Jews, Samaritans, and some Christians, on “the tenth day of the seventh month” (Leviticus 25:27). On our calendar, this day comes in either late September or early October. In 2023, it began at sundown on September 24th and ended at sundown on September 25th. This Jewish festival was very important under the Old Mosaic Law Covenant that Almighty God made with the ancient nation of Israel, as elaborated in detail in Leviticus chapter 16. “He has not done this with any other nation” (Psalm 147:19,20 NLT). Jews today “observe many other traditions” in connection with “Yom Kippur” which “go beyond what is written in Scripture” (1 Corinthians 4:6 GWT).read more
New Covenant – ‘Good Things Now Already Here’ – Access to God
Do we need to go through some human intermediary, or hierarchy, to get to Almighty God? – No! Why not? We certainly do not want to in any way diminish the need of “meeting together” with those of like faith (Hebrews 10:24,25 NIV), nor do we want to downplay the importance of Christlike spiritual leadership (Hebrews 13:7,17). What does the New Covenant have to do with any of this?
However, we need to keep in mind that “there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between humanity . . . Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 2:5 NJB). He is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through” him (John 14:6 NIV). What makes the mediatorship of Jesus Christ possible?
“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant”—Hebrews 9:14,15 NABread 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 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 6:15,16 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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Christians – Don’t Try to Separate Jews and Gentiles Again!
“One flock, one shepherd” (Join 10:16), “one new people from the two groups” (Ephesians 2:15 NLT)
Should Christians try to separate Jews and Gentile in the church, or in their understanding of how God and Jesus deal with people today, and in the future?
“Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and =&0=&
Some Christians still try to separate Jews and Gentiles. Is this what God wants? Let’s see what the scriptures have to say on the subject.
“In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile”—Galatians 3:26-28 NIV. The distinction between Jew and Gentile is thus removed by Jesus Christ. Among Christians, there should be no distinction. According to the scriptures. God does not want Christians to try to separate Jews and Gentiles.
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4 HCSB) Christ is the end of the Law Covenant, which separated Jews and Gentiles.
“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.” (Luke 16:16 HCSB) The Old Covenant was until John the Baptist. Every kind of person, not just Jews, can enter the kingdom of God now since the New Covenant was inaugurated.
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16 HCSB) No longer would there be distinction between Jew and Gentile. No longer would God separate Jews and Gentile, as they would become “one flock.”
“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.'” (Acts 10:34-35 HCSB) Peter was helped to realize that in Christ, there is no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile.
“But in fact 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. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: ‘The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:6-13 NIV) The New Covenant mediated by Jesus “replaced” the “old covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:11,14 NLT). That means there would be no need to separate Jews and Gentiles.
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” (Hebrews 10:1 NIV) The Old Covenant was a shadow of the good things to come through Christ and the New Covenant. Christians need to interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, and not the other way around. The New Testament interprets, fulfills, and completes the Old Testament.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ‘” (Matthew 19:28 ESV) The twelve tribes of Israel represent all mankind.
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:1-10 ESV, emphasis added) It is impossible for the blood of animals to completely remove sins, which is the main deficiency of the “old =&1=&
Old Covenant Shadows Fulfilled in New Covenant Reality
The Old Covenant always was primarily relational (with God), not material
Many think the promises of living in the promised land of ancient Israel for God’s people are permanent. However, the Old Covenant was cancelled, and today God operates through the New Covenant and its reality.
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim reflection of the good things to come, not the good things themselves”—Hebrews 10:1 NLT
“These are shadows of the things to come; the reality belongs to Christ”—Colossians 2:17 NAB
The old covenant shadows were fulfilled in the new covenant substance of reality.
The main covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3). The “land” was promised by God to Abraham’s “=&0=&to the Abrahamic Covenant (Galatians 3:19 NIV). “The land” was promised to the Israelites under the Law Covenant, with a warning about pagan peoples and against serving other “gods”(Exodus 23:30-33).
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because sheconsidered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 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, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 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.” (Hebrews 11:8-16 NIV)read more
