Israel

The true Israel

(This study is part of an introductory series on the book of Revelation)

Background: In the Bible, the name Israel is used in more than only one sense: On one hand, Israel as a nation comprises the biological offspring of Abraham through the line of Jacob (Israel, Gen 32:28), irrespective of what they do or do not believe. However, already the Old Testament distinguished the nation from a spiritual ‘Israel’ that includes everyone who walks in the faith of Abraham, irrespective of their nationalities as Jews or Gentiles. E.g., in Isa 42:6  and in Isa 49:3-6, the OT prophet Isaiah referred to the nation as “the people” (Isa 49:6) and as “the tribes of Jacob”, respectively, only to distinguish them from “Israel, my Servant” (Isa 42:1; 49:3). Since Isaiah declared that the Servant Israel will gather and bring back into Himself from the nation Israel the “ones He kept”, in one body together with Gentiles, Isaiah cannot possibly mean that his nation itself is that Servant! When trying to interpret Biblical prophecy and its theology, a cardinal mistake is to ignore this distinction by the OT prophets and thereby jumble together and confuse everything the Bible has to say about each of them. To explore further what the Bible reveals about this mystery, start by asking:

1) For whom was Jesus born at his first coming? What did believing Jews in Israel think about that, e.g. according to the song of Mary (Lk 1:54 Israel), or Zechariah (Lk 1:68 “his people”), or Simeon (Lk 2:28-32)? 

  • What was their understanding of what Israel is?
  • Does this mean that the calling of the Gentiles was only God’s plan B? Or does he have two separate plans of salvation for Jews and Gentiles?
  • What did Jesus say about that? cf Jn 10:14-16 How many flocks did he come to shepherd? cf Jn 17:21

2) What makes someone a true Israelite according to Jesus?

  • Read Jn 1:47 and Jn 8:31-41 => Who is not a true Israelite? -> and who is?
    • cf Gal 3:16, [Jesus is the promised offspring (singular) of Abraham]
    • cf Mt 8:17 [quoted from Isa 53: Jesus is the ‘servant Israel’ that Isaiah wrote about]
    • cf Mt 12:50 [Jesus and ‘his brothers’]

3) How did the apostle Paul define a Jew, and why?

4) Who are God’s people according to New Testament writers other than Paul?

  • Read Acts 3:17-23 It seems Peter quoted Deut 18:17-19 only loosely: What did he apparently change? -> “…I will call him to account”. Peter renders this as “will be completely cut off”
  • How would you explain that Peter arrived at this more radical interpretation? cf Jer 4:4;

5) Since both the NT and OT exclude from God’s people anyone who has an “uncircumcised heart” that rejects Jesus, who then is left as God’s people?

  • Read Heb 8:7-9. This quote from Jer 31:33 explicitly addressed Israel, the house of Judah. To whom does Hebrews apply it?
  • cf Acts 15:15-18. In whom is this promise to the house of David fulfilled according to the apostle James?

6) The first Christians who were all Jews struggled to grasp that the re-built “house of David” will include the Gentiles. This can be seen e.g. in Acts 11:2, where Peter was criticized by fellow believers that he mingled with non-Jews over a meal. Similarly, when Peter witnessed the Spirit baptism of the household of Cornelius in Acts 10, this was a big deal. Why?

  • What excluded non-Jews from the promise to Israel until Jesus came? cf Eph 2:11-15
  • How did the coming of Jesus put an end to this distinction?
    • Did Gentiles replace the Jews as the true Israel of God? Why not?
    • Read Eph 2:15-16 => How does this differ from a replacement theory that Gentiles replaced Jews as God’s people? cf Gal 3:26-28

7) Personal and application

  • What do you conclude: Is it right to consider yourselves part of the true Israel and entitled to its promises if you follow Jesus, even if you are not of Jewish descent biologically? Why or why not?
  • Do you think that God still has a plan also for Jews who are Israelites by physical descent?
    • Especially Ro 11 (another chapter…) teaches that God can (and will) graft the Jews back into the root of the olive tree from which they have been cut off in the past as a nation. How do you expect this might happen or look like?
    • Do you think that our views on these questions are of any practical (and/or political) relevance? Why or why not?