What About the Middle East?
Israel of God – Many are focused on Israel and the Middle East to see fulfillment of Bible prophecy. This study addresses popular misconceptions in 9 points.
- The First Israel
- Israel in the Old Testament
- Israel in the New Testament
- The Two Israels
- All Are One at the Cross
- Does the fig tree represent Israel?
- Defending Unbelief
- Prophecy and 1948
- Conclusion
1. The First Israel
Genesis 32:1-28 – The first time Israel is mentioned in the Bible, it is a name given to ONE man who gained a spiritual victory.
Jacob lied about his name 3 times, and that was the reason for his troubles later in life. God brings him over this same ground again this time he answered truthfully.
2. Israel in the Old Testament
Genesis 37, 38 - Joseph dreamed dreams.
Exodus 1:5-10 - Israel has now grown to a very large people that threatened Pharaoh’s rule. They are now descendents of the person Israel and an identifiable people. They are oppressed and enslaved in Egypt.
Exodus 4:22 – Israel is God’s son.
Exodus 12:41 – Israel comes out of Egypt
Exodus 14:22 – Israel passes through the water after fleeing Egypt
Number 14:33,34 – Israel spends 40 years in the wilderness.
Hosea 11:1 – Out of Egypt I have called my son.
Israel initially referred to one man who gained a spiritual victory and then the term is used in the broader sense referring to God’s people.
3. Israel in the New Testament
Matthew 1:20,21 – Joseph dreamed dreams.
Matthew 2:14,15 – The family flees with Christ to Egypt and Matthew says this was to fulfill the prophecy of Hosea that said “Out of Egypt I have called my son”. Matthew says a text that originally pertained to Israel is FULFILLED in Christ.
Matthew 3:16 – After coming out of Egypt, the very next thing we read of in Jesus’ life is His passing through the waters of baptism.
Matthew 4:1-11 – After passing through the water, Jesus spends 40 days in the desert and is tempted by Satan. He quotes from Deuteronomy throughout the whole passage.
Jesus was reliving the history of Israel, yet where they failed, he succeeded.
Psalm 80:8 – Israel was called a Vine John 15:1 – Jesus is the true vine
Exodus 4:22- Israel is God’s son Colossians 1:15- Christ is firstborn
Isaiah 41:8- Israel is called the Seed of Abraham
Galatians 3:16 - Abraham’s seed refers not to many, but to one who is Christ.
In the New Testament, a consistent theme develops that Jesus Christ is synonymous with Israel. Remember, the first time Israel is mentioned in the Bible it referred to one man who had gained a spiritual victory. It then took on the meaning of a people of God. Likewise, in the New Testament, Israel first refers to a victorious man (Christ), and then to a people of God (the descendents of Israel/Christ).
Galatians 3:29 – If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed. If we belong to Christ, we are part of God’s spiritual Israel.
4. There are two Israels in the New Testament
1 Corinthians 10:18 – There is an Israel after the flesh
Galatians 6:16 – There exists an Israel of God consisting of those who have accepted Christ.
Galatians 3:6,7 – Only those who have faith are sons of Abraham. Being a literal descendent, again, is not enough.
Matthew 3:9,10 – John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees that God could raise up children to Abraham from the stones. The Jews took their confidence in the fact they were descended of Abraham. Notice John said the axe was ready to cut at the root those that did not bear good fruit.
John 8:40-42,44 – Jesus told them that because they didn’t love him they were of their father the devil. They had cast off the lineage because of lack of faith.
Romans 2:17,25-26,28-29 – You are NOT a Jew if you are only one outwardly. No one will disagree that the nation of Israel and the Jews are only Jews through outward symbols.
Romans 9:2-8 – Just because you descended from Israel does not mean you are God’s Israel. Paul concludes that the children of the promise are descended from ISAAC.
Galatians 4:21-28 – Unbelieving Jews are slaves through Ishmael. Christians are children of the promise through Isaac.
Romans 11:1-5 - Paul states that God has not cast away the remnant. There were Israelites in Paul’s time who had been faithful and didn’t bow their knee to ‘Baal’ and were saved by Grace.
5. We are one at the cross
Dispensationalists would have you believe that God has two separate plans: one for the Jews and one for the church. However, even a surface study of the New Testament reveals that we are one at the cross.
Ephesians 2:12-14 – Gentiles were once far off, but Christ broke down the dividing wall and made BOTH groups into ONE.
Ephesians 2:15-19 – The two were made into one man, gentiles are made fellow citizens with the saints.
Ephesians 3:5-6 – We all share together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28-29 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, we are all one in Christ Jesus.
Romans 11:13-14 – Paul is speaking to Gentiles hoping to move the Jews to jealousy that SOME of them may be saved. The word ‘some’ is very important. Paul never thought all of the Jews would be saved.
Romans 11:16-21 – The ‘branches’ of Israel were cut off from the tree because of the UNBELIEF. Because of faith, Gentiles were grafted into the tree because of FAITH. There is no way you can denounce Christ and remain part of the tree.
At this point, dispensationalists will say ‘there will be a mass conversion of Israelis at the end of time’. They refer to the verse that says ‘all Israel will be saved.”
Romans 11:23 – IF the Jews do not continue in their unbelief, they can be grafted into the tree AGAIN. Notice how, presently, they are not part of that tree at all.
Romans 11:25-26 – All Israel is saved AFTER the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. How is anyone saved? By being grafted into the good olive tree referred to above. The olive tree represents God’s Israel. This Israel consists of Jews AND Gentiles that were grafted in because of faith. Because of Christ, we (Israel) all will be saved.
6. Does the Fig Tree Represent Israel?
In 1948, the land of Palestine was returned to the Jewish people and it became the nation of Israel. Many see this as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and the starting moment of the fictitious end-time scenario that has been described thus far. They claim the restoration of Palestine to the Jews was the first buds Christ referred to in His fig-tree parable.
Matthew 24:32-33 – There is no reference in this entire chapter to Palestine being restored to the Jewish people at the end of time. On the contrary, the whole chapter describes the destruction that will take place there because the city rejected its Messiah. Christ lists numerous signs, and then parallels His sermon with a fig tree that starts to bud.
Luke 21:29-31 – This is a parallel passage to Matthew. Christ says that when the fig tree, and ALL trees begin to bud, we know that summer is near. When we see the signs He has just described taking place, we know that the end is near.
Is the fig tree Israel? There is no contextual evidence to support the idea that this tree represented anyone in particular. But even if it did represent Israel, how would this related to 1948? Luke says that when the fig tree and ALL trees begin to bud. These are inexorably linked. Who are represented by ALL trees and what happened to this group in 1948?
7. God cannot fight for those who do not believe
1948 is seen as such an act of God because Israel won three wars against all odds in 1949, 1967, and 1973. God is the same always (Heb 13:8, Mal. 3:6). Did He fight for Israel in the past when they did not believe?
Exodus 33:1-3 – The land was promised to the Israelites. God could not go up in their midst because they were an obstinate people.
Numbers 13:1,32-33 – Spies are sent into Canaan, they come back with a bad report saying they could never defeat those who dwelt there.
Numbers 14:1-4,22-45 – The people decided not to trust in God and wanted to return to Egypt. God could not fulfill His promises to those people because of their unbelief. They decided to fight anyways, and they were slaughtered because God was not protecting them.
Judges 2:13,14 – Because they forsook the Lord, they could no longer stand before their enemies.
8. Prophecy and 1948
Futurists and Dispensationalists cite Ezekiel 36 and 38 as proof that God will re-gather Israel ‘out of all nations’ in the ‘latter days’. A carefully look at these passages proves beyond a doubt that the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948 could NOT have been described by these passages.
Jeremiah 29:10-18 – The phrase ‘out of all nations’ is here used to describe the gathering out of Babylonian captivity. It need not apply to the whole world.
Jeremiah 30:24 – The phrase ‘latter days’ is used to describe the period right after Babylonian captivity. It does not describe the period directly preceding the second coming of Christ. Notice also 48:47, 49:39, 50:1.
Deuteronomy 31:29 – The phrase ‘latter days’ is again used without referring to the period directly preceding the second coming of Christ. Why must these two phrases mean something entirely different in Ezekiel 36 and 38?
Ezekiel 38:8,11,14 – Three times the re-gathered of Israel is referred to as a people who live in safety and dwell in a place without walls. This could not describe modern Israel who live in one of the most dangerous places on the planet.
Deuteronomy 30:1-3 – When Israel returns to obeying God, THEN He will gather them from among all nations.
Nehemiah 1:8-9 – If Israel returns to God, He will gather them.
Ezekiel 36:33 – ON THE DAY God cleanses Israel from her iniquities He will enable her to dwell in her cities. This could not have happened if they didn’t accept Christ in 1948.
There are conditional statements present in the very chapters that are cited as proof that prophecy was fulfilled that undoubtedly prove it could not have been. Israel is still living in unbelief. These conditional prophecies cannot be fulfilled as long as they do not accept Christ.
Revelation 20:7-9 – Notice the elements: Gog, Magog, an army, a battle against Jerusalem. John states that Ezekiel 38 is fulfilled at the END of the millennium. There is a battle against God’s spiritual Israel that dwell inside the New Jerusalem.
There is a consistent theme in the New Testament that applies passages originally describing Israel to Jesus Christ or to His people. This has been noted above. Revelation 20 does the exact same thing with Ezekiel 38.
Matthew 21:33-43 – Israel killed the prophets and then killed the Son of God. The conclusion of this parable is that ‘the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to another who will bear its fruits.’
9. Conclusion
The nation of Israel has no significance to God anymore. All who believe in Christ are considered the ‘Israel’ of God. Because of the nation of Israel's unbelief, they were cut off. They can easily be grafted back in by accepting Christ. All the world is focusing their eyes on Israel while the true signs the Bible describes as taking place at the end of time are being ignored.