Me, Myself and Israel
Am I Israel or are they me?
By Pastor Adam Fox
To some of you this is no shock, but I am a pretty big fan of Spider-man. I have quite a few collectibles and two or three dozen shirts sporting the wall-crawling web slinger. So of course I am going to go see any television show or movie that is about him, and that includes Into the Spiderverse.
This animated movie took us as the viewer into the Marvel Multiverse, where the comic world is not just one but many worlds filled with versions of heroes. The movie collected some Spider powered heroes from different universes to fight super villain crime boss, the Kingpin.
While for me it is hard to pick which version of Spider-man is my favorite, it usually goes down to Peter Parker or Peter B. Parker. Huh?
Let me explain. The first Spider-man we see is a blonde successful Peter Parker who (SPOILER!) gets killed. But another universes Spider-man, Peter B. Parker, comes into the film to help the team of heroes save the day. "It's Peter Parker at 40, it's Peter Parker with a bad back... and who's not sure if he still wants to be Spider-Man, and what it means to be Spider-Man after the excitement of being Spider-Man,"
The point that I would like to hit and hit hard is, the two Spider-men are similar but not the same thing, just like the church and Israel.
There is a debate in some theological circles about future things, the Doctrine of Eschatology. Some of these debates include the nation of Israel, when the church will be raptured up and so forth. A lot of these debates center around those who believe in Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism - stay with me on this, cause it is important.
Dispensationalism can be defined by Paul Ennis as "“Dispensation is a system of interpretation that seeks to establish a unity in the Scriptures through its central focus on the grace of God. Dispensationalists arrive at their system of interpretation through two primary principles: (1) maintain a consistently literal method of interpretation, and (2) maintain a distinction between Israel and the church."
Let's look at the first point of the Dispensationalism, the need for a LITERAL interpretation of Scripture. When you read a passage from the Bible, do you see it as something that has or will happen or a figurative or loosely translated that could or may have happened. Or can we pick and choose?
This seems to be the one that is easiest to understand, all of Scripture should be read as literal. When we look at the Exodus tale from the life of Moses, God parted the Red Sea and the walked across on dry ground. How should we interpret this passage? Did Moses and Israel walk on a dried sea bed or was it an allegory for something else, like faith in God?
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Exodus 14:21-22
Simply: Moses and all of the Israelite walked on dry ground in a parted Red Sea. Literal.
While we read some sections of Revelation or of Daniel and scratch our head at what we read, we still cannot see it as figurative. While there is figurative language in the Bible, we have to take the Word of God serious and literal.
The big fish in the Dispensation camp is the view on Israel and the Church. The nation of Israel as we can see from the Older Testament is the narrative of God's people as they establish the promised land and look towards a redeemer (Jesus). The Church by contrast is the story of a people of faith who believe in Jesus the redeemer. Are they one group or two? Does it matter? Friends, it always matters.
“Traditional dispensationalists also put great stress on the distinction between Israel and the church. Some of them, in fact, regard this distinction as fundamental to understanding Scripture and organizing eschatology. In their view God made an unconditional covenant with Israel; that is to say, his promises to them do not depend on their fulfilling certain requirements. They will remain his special people and ultimately receive his blessing. Ethnic, national, political Israel is never to be confused with the church, nor are the promises given to Israel to be regarded as applying to and fulfilled in the church. They are two separate entities. God has, as it were, interrupted his special dealings with Israel, but will resume them at some point in the future. Unfulfilled prophecies regarding Israel will be fulfilled within the nation itself, not within the church."
If Israel and the Church are different entities as the Dispensationalists believe, then the church do not participate in the Biblical Covenants. Covenants are promises basically, promises between God and an individual. But since these are promises from God - they will never be broken and you can count on that. There are five major Covenants in the Old Testaments.
Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9: “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth”
Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12: 1. He will be made into a great nation (12:2).
2. This nation will be led into the Promised Land (12:1).
3. Through him (Abraham) all people of the earth will be blessed (12:3).
Mosaic Covenant in Genesis 19: God tells Moses that if Israel obeys, they will be His chosen people, His treasured possession. Ultimately, these blessings will be extended to all people.
Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7: David and his descendants that his house will rule over Israel forever which is fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
The New Covenant in Jeremiah 31: Despite the failure of God’s people to live up to the covenants that were made, God graciously made a new one with his people:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” – Jeremiah 31:31-34
These five covenants from God to the people of Israel are important. They show us to a certain extent the nature of God and His guidance and care for the Israelite's. But that is where it ends, with Israel. With the promises and covenants from God to the nation of Israel, the people of God, it makes sense that the church today would want to be in on it. But the church is a separate entity but still loved by God equally. The two are separate and need to be so. Israel will have a special place in the final dispensation, in the future kingdom of God.
Look at what Paul writes in Romans 11 about the nation of Israel: I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. 7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Israel will have a place in Glory as will the Church - but that does not make them the same person. The Dispensationalists in my humble opinion have a point, but the part that makes me scream out Testify! is what they think about the end times. Traditional dispensationism believes that the church will be raptured up BEFORE everything happens. YES!
The homecoming of the believers in God is something that is coming and when it does happen, it is going to be awesome. The only question that we in the church have is when. When will the church be raptured home? Pretribulation (before everything happens) Mid-Tribulation (during the middle of it) or Post-tribulation (after all the tribulations happen).
Looking at this objectively, I am reminded what a senior saint would always claim about when the rapture will happen. He would state defiantly, we are to be raptured before the tribulation happens but if I am wrong - then in the middle. If I am wrong on both - then it will be post-tribulation.
The Dispenationalists thankfully take a stronger stance on the rapture and future things then my wishful thinking elderly saint. The tribulation period is not designed for the church - the bride of Christ nor Israel since it is a period of outpouring of God's wrath. This wrath makes it inconceivable that the church will be on earth during the tribulation period.
It is important to see future things like the rapture or the millennial kingdom, mentioned in Revelation 20:4-6, through the lenses of theology. Because Dispensational theology and their double tent pole of Literal translation of the Bible and distinction between Israel and the church - it makes understanding Revelation easier.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
We can read passages like those of Revelation 20:4-6 and take them literally, as in a thousand years MEANS a thousand years.
Theology is important, because it teaches us about our Heavenly Father. We should want to learn as much as possible, learning about Him and imitating Him in all that we do and say. The more we know, the less we don't.
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam