MODERN ISRAEL
The Israel of God
As bombs are leveling city blocks in Palestine certain Christians in the larger Evangelical church are salivating like Pavlov’s dogs with eager expectation as to what must come next in God’s prophetic timeline. The long lull in significant activity in that region of the world over the past decade has no doubt left many leading “prophesy experts” in a lurch, causing many to go back to their drawing boards and alter their charts and timelines. One can only imagine how much excitement has been generated in the last 2 months. No longer will those Pastors and Teachers need to make much about small skirmishes on the West Bank. No longer will they have to find significance in the Ukraine Russia conflict. They now have everything they could ever have dreamt of. They are relevant again and the general public will be eager to listen as they decipher the Bible like Taro card readers. They will have to see whether they can find the word Gaza hidden in the later parts of the book of Ezekiel or how they can relate what they read from CNN headlines to the book of Revelation. Certainly, it is a good time to be in the prophesy business! There is a great likelihood that books on the subject are being authored right now, that is, if the authors feel like there is enough time before the imminent rapture to get these manuscripts to the presses. If there is enough time left, maybe they will be able to find a way to multiply, subtract and add their way to a few 666s or scare a few more gullible people into the Kingdom of God or else suffer the terrible wrath of the seemingly omnipotent Anti-Christ, whomever that might be. There are certainly many potential candidates to choose from now. It could be Putin or Xi Jinping or any other boogeyman figure that threatens Americas foreign policy, but it certainly can’t be the “good guys” let’s make that clear. It can’t be Zelensky, it can’t be Biden and it certainly couldn’t be Benjamin Netanyahu. Although, Netanyahu one could suggest, has more in common with the Anti-Christ of the modern evangelical church than any other candidate. After all, annihilation of an entire people group is Anti-Christ’s business. But if you watch enough CBT network then you would know that when it comes to the Jews, we are talking about the chosen people here. And their privileges include complete freedom to behave in any way they like. It even seems as though they have a right that no one else has or has had, even the Israel of old; and that is to transgress the law of God in order to fulfill their interpretation of Biblical prophecy. Aren’t they exempt from the teachings of Christ? Don’t they have a different standard? These are questions Christians should be asking and if they are going to answer them, they should stop resting on the Left Behind series and start combing over the scriptures themselves to find answers. There should be nothing taken for granted. Not in a day like today where many laypersons and Pastors alike are demonstratively Biblically illiterate. The Bible is the Word of God, and we are to depend on it more than our daily bread (Matt 4:4), it isn’t a Big Mack to be served out of a window. But that’s how we want our theology served up today, in sound bites and Facebook posts. In Josiah’s day the Word of God was hidden behind walls of stone. Today it’s hidden in plain site on our bookshelves. (2 Kings. 22:8)
Modern Hermeneutics vs the Apostles
One of the greatest challenges today for the modern Christian is the constant inundation of resources. The plethora of podcasts, YouTube videos, books and lectures available to the average Christian in America is staggering. The believer is almost drowning in knowledge and there are so many voices speaking in the mainstream that someone can go their entire life suffocated by the monotonous mediocrity of it all. There is hardly a chance to hear another point of view. In fact, only in the past decade or so have differing opinions been available for those fortunate enough to crave strong meat. Most believers today have only been exposed to the modern Premillennial eschatological schemes dreamt up by John Darby and his subsequent followers. Perhaps the most famous of these would be the idea of an imminent rapture, something that reportedly was communicated first to Darby by a young girl named Margaret McDowell. Ignoring the Pentecostal-style manner in which this idea initially came, one could say doctrines like these are able to take root because of a lack of proper independent Bible study and a complete dismissal of church history. If we are to study the scriptures with any particular lens on, we should seek the lens in which the Apostles went to the scriptures with. To be certain, most of the Apostles would be thrown out of the modern seminary because of a lack of “proper hermeneutics.” The way in which the Apostle Paul applies Old Covenant scripture is simply “impossible” with the Dispensational hermeneutic which calls for an intense literalism even at the expense of the original authors intent. Charles Ryrie in his work “Dispensational Hermeneutics says:
“Literal hermeneutics.” Dispensationalists claim that their principle of hermeneutics is that of literal interpretation.[5] This means interpretation that gives to every word the same meaning it would have in normal usage, whether employed in writing, speaking, or thinking.
If Ryrie is correct and words in Scripture are to strictly take on a common meaning that does not deviate from book to book, then what are we to do when reading historical books like Nehemiah which describe stone masons building a wall and then flip over to Zachariah 3:9 which describes a stone with 7 eyes! One can surmise quickly that the apostles did not adhere to this principle. For example, let’s look at 1st Corinthians 10:4
"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 10:4 KJV.
The spiritualizing or symbology evident in Old Covenant passages which were elaborated on and brought forth by the Apostles is repugnant to the Dispensational Bible Scholar. It is something he wishes to downplay at all costs in favor of a wooden literalism even at the expense of honest Bible exegesis. It has even been suggested by some that spiritualizing the text or rather seeing the types and shadows as having a deeper meaning is a liberty that we do not have and is tantamount to new age liberal scholarship. This is interesting since no one is attempting to “spiritualize” the text other than the Apostle Paul. We are only, at this point, seeking to take the inspired scripture that he penned at face value.
Another simple example of how the Apostles saw deeper meaning in the shadows and types of the Old Covenant scriptures can be found in the book of Galatians.
"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed." Galatians 3:8 KJV
Here we have another interpretive “sin” according to some. Why? Because again the critique is that there is a lack of clarity and an appeal to what is often called typology. The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ according to Paul in 1st Cor.15 which is true (hallelujah) and which is perhaps the most condensed version of the Gospel that we can communicate. But here Paul is suggesting that back in the book of Genesis that Gospel was proclaimed to Abraham long before the Patriarchs were born and long before the Prophets and long before Christ’s coming. The reason this arouses the contempt of those married to a Dispensational Hermeneutic is because it is not explicit enough for their liking, it is too shadowy, not clear and certainly not as rigid as they need it to be in order to resist deficiencies in how they come to the text. Did God share with Abraham the death burial and resurrection of Christ? Perhaps he did, since Abraham was a Prophet (Genesis 20:7) but we don’t have that in the record of scripture. We do however have Paul applying the Gospel in the blessings to the nations promised by God to Abraham by His seed. Seed being singular as elaborated on in later in the chapter:
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Galatians 3:16 KJV
This is a heavy blow in more ways than one to the Dispensational Hermeneutic, but it is not the verse that draws the majority of the ire from those who hold to that system of thought. The point thus far, to be brief is that the Apostles have no problem talking about the spiritual meaning behind many of the Old Covenant promises. They have no problem talking about the differences between the earthy Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem which is above or of the earthly Mt. Sinai and the heavenly Mt. Sinai (Heb. 12:22). And the crux of the argument which is at hand is the physical Jew versus the Spiritual Jew. The Jew who is one inwardly (Romans 2:29). And that is why we look now to what is a battleground section of scripture because indeed the Dispensational system either sinks or swims there.
Galatians 4: 22-26:
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.
25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Here we have a line drawn in the sand. There are many who seem content to follow Paul’s argumentation to this point and no further. For some reason the most controversial portion of this text is the word in the KJV translated as allegory. Other translations render the word symbolic which pacifies some but one commentator who has one of the most popular study Bibles of our day makes sure to state emphatically in his footnotes that “the Bible does not contain allegories and that Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael are ‘real people’.” This is well known, no serious Bible scholar is suggesting such, certainly that isn’t what Paul intends to say. But here is where the waters get muddied, here is where so many stumble. A clear reading of the passage backs up what Paul was arguing in most of Chapter 3, that there are children of the flesh, sons of Abraham just like Ishmael was, who are not children of the promise like Isaac. He then relates to all believers of the Gospel as sons of the promise, (i.e., Isaac) and all those who desire to be under the law and who are blood relations of Abraham as Ishmael, which are under a curse not under the Grace of God. To be even more clear he then goes on to say this in verse 29:
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Here we have clearly displayed the distinction of those sons of Abraham, one by faith, born of the Spirit and one by the flesh under the law. It really doesn’t get much clearer and elementary than that. Most anyone who allows the text to speak for itself will come to that conclusion but amazingly enough the same Preacher and his study Bible mentioned earlier actually jumps back to ethnicity in order to avoid dealing with the implications here by saying that the sons of Ishmael, who he equates with the Arabs, still persecute the ethnic Jews, and furthermore that it is non-believers being described in verse 29 and their persecution of believers. The former point is ludicrous, but the latter at least gets close. What kind of non-believers are being described by Paul though? Pagans? Under the Law? Children of Sinai? Of course, Paul is referring to those born after the flesh of Abraham who rejected Christ and who were the main source of persecution during his own lifetime, hence the description “As it is this day.”. After all the book of Acts makes clear that it was not the Pagans who were after the church initially but the non-believing Jews, “the sons of the bondwoman.” also referred to as the Synagogue of Satan, those who say they are Jews and are not. (Rev 2:9) This is also clearly attested to not only in the Old Covenant scriptures which often refer to a holy remnant, see Isaiah 10:21 and Romans 9:28 but also in the Gospels where Jesus rebukes the ethnic Israelites for claiming Abraham as their father while denying him as Messiah. Jesus is clear when he tells them “You are of your father the Devil!” John 8:44.
This all begs the question, why is there such an insistence on those who study the scripture today on nationality or ethnicity? Paul who was a Jew of Jews describes all his accolades in 1st Corinthians 11 but does not use his ethnicity to justify his ministry or calling, rather he uses it to shame those who were drawn away by the Judaizes who sought to make the Lord’s people more like the sons of bondage under the law. In fact, most of Paul’s Epistles deal to some extent to what was the leading heresy of that time that sought to destroy the grace of God and to make it of none-effect.
Furthermore, if Paul wanted to make the case for an ethno-sate, he didn’t do a good job of it, in fact, he seems to have undermined it at all costs. He did this by identifying what a true Jew is contrary to what the first century Jews, and Paul before his conversion, were teaching. He taught numerous times as did other Apostles, although maybe not as explicitly, that a Jew was one who was one inwardly and that circumcision is of the heart. See Romans 2:25-29 as well as Lev 26:41, Deut. 26:14 and 30:6, Jer. 4:4 and 9:24-25, Ezek. 44 6-9.
The first century Jew was obsessed with his national ethnic geopolitical identity and did not want the suffering savior described in Isaiah 53. This was clear when they rejected the Messiah. They wanted national sovereignty; they wanted Barabbas the murderer and rebel. They wanted Rome out of the land and to have a king who waged a Jihad-like conquest, not of man’s hearts but of land and property and other fleshy things. Paul radically corrects that thinking which is miraculous in many ways especially considering his patriotism and zeal whereby he persecuted the church. He does this by applying in a way far too “spiritual” for some, the Old Covenant promises to the people of God which now included grafted in Gentiles and said in the book of Ephesians that they were fellow citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. Think of that, fifthly former idolaters and Gentiles were fellow citizens. The thought is enough to make your modern Orthodox Rabbi spit on the ground with revulsion.
Dispensational Dejavu
The modern Dispensationalist, (those who proudly wear the title as well as those who are wholly unaware of where their hermeneutic originated), is stuck in the first century. They have for some strange reason taken up the mantle of the 1st century persecuting Jews and have begun to do their bidding. They may not be persecuting the church perse, but they are certainly parroting the cries of the Zealots in their desire to have an ethno-state int the middle east. They are praying for the Kingdom to come, not an immaterial kingdom either, they want to see swords and shields or rather attack helicopters and computer guided missiles. They want to take out some popcorn and watch the fireworks, they want some Old Testament action. They are reminiscent of those who witnessed the crucifixion and upon hearing the Jesus cry out said “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes” Matt.27:48-50. They want to see if something will happen. Oddly enough, they don’t want to be part of this earthly kingdom, they are too flight minded for that, they just want to have a part in seeing it come to fruition for those they suppose are the rightful heirs, the true children of promise. They are content to be God’s stepchild who fauns over their sibling and waits for them to inherit all things. But what then of the scriptures of the inheritance of the people of God today? What about the covenants and promises applied to us? Romans 15:8-9, Romans 8:17, Ephesians 2:12-13. Why then is there such an eagerness to see those who reject Christ have their own geopolitical empire and tread down their enemies into the mire. Why applaud when bulldozers level city blocks so that the chosen people of God can expand their territory. Why is there a delight in this? How is it that the believer is so bloodthirsty for the sake of covenant breakers?
A Holy Nation
It will not doubt at this point be argued by selecting choice scriptures that the Lord has a special interest in a geopolitical nation state. One of those choice verses is in the book of Jeremiah.
"If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever." Jeremiah 31:36 KJV
The ordnances being described by the Lord in this passage are the sun and moon, and the last I checked they had not ceased from existing and last I checked Israel had indeed ceased from being a nation for almost 200 years before the last century when Zionists fulfilled their own eschatology by regathering ethnic Israel. Any honest scholar would have to then rethink his or her interpretation of the word nation. And if the word nation means a group of people rather than a political state then that means the current political Israel existing now in the Near East is able to vanish away again without violating any scripture. The fact that the nation of Israel does not primarily mean a nation state is proven in the fact that the people under the Old Covenant consisted of people of many different ethnicities. From the book of Joshua, we know that the Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a peace treaty and then dwelt in the land as servants (Joshua (1:27). After that, we are also told that enemies from various tribes were left in the land so that Israel would be tested (Judges 2:20-23). We are also told that God gave all the land that he had promised (Joshua 21:43). Which would mean that there is no outstanding promise for physical land to be given again. We learn in Exodus that many Egyptians became Israelites as well (Exodus 12:38). There were also provisions in the law for those foreigners who dwelt in the land of Israel. In Deut. 1:16 magistrates are commanded to execute justice both for Israelites and strangers who dwelt in the land. This is just a small sampling of Old Covenant provisions made for foreigners and proselytes alike who were residents in the land of Israel. These alone are enough to conclude that the land of Israel in time past has never been pure of all non-Jewish blood and in fact the Lord commands the foreigners not to be expelled from the land but to be treated with dignity and respect. This is also made clear by the list of David’s mighty men, there were men like Doeg the Edomite (1st Samuel 21:8) and Uriah the Hittite (2nd Samuel 11:11) both of whom are not physical descendants of Abraham, yet are included in the armies of Israel. These examples are not at all exhaustive but help show a glimpse into the multiethnic Israel, a nation that had a contract with God which included a land and a blessing but was conditional on obedience and carried with it terrible curses if the contract was broken (Deut. chapter 28). These curses were executed in living color during the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586BC and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD where many Jews consumed their children during sieges as prophesied in the law.
Another section of scripture should be intensely interesting when wrestling with what is meant by the word nation in the Bible. This is found in Matthew 21: 33-46 often called The Parable of the Landowner. Here we should have little trouble identifying who or what the vineyard is that Christ is referring to. First in verse 45 we are told that the Pharisees perceived that Christ was talking about them. But it’s obvious from cross referencing to Isaiah chapter 5 that, the “them” is the Israelites according to the flesh. They were the keepers of the vineyard, and they were the ones who had killed the hired hands and finally the vineyard owners Son. Verse 43 is particularly important because it uses the word nation.
"Therefore, say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Matthew 21:43 KJV
Now I am aware of how slippery some folks are, they will quickly highlight the fact that the term “Kingdom of God” is used and will try to create a difference between that and other interchangeable terms like Kingdom of Heaven and the like. I have no interest in pandering to that crowd. For those who have common sense it should be clear that the Lord is saying to ethnic Israel, the children of Hagar that the Kingdom is going to be given to another group and that other group is called a “nation”. So, if we are to be wooden and literal in our definition of that term then we should be asking what nation? Germany, France, China? It should be clear at this point the word nation is referring to a multiethnic group of people. Those people are explicitly defined then in 1 Peter 2:9
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:" 1 Peter 2:9 KJV
Because this verse acts like an interpretive key many would like to see it explained away. For instance, the common theory today has been put forth that Peter is writing to a primarily Jewish audience. This would be well and good if not for the following verse.
"Which in time past were not a people but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." 1 Peter 2:10 KJV
Peters’ audience was once not a people but now the people of God. And these people being addressed are now a Holy nation. This was the blessing that the Lod bestowed on the Old Covenant people of God in Exodus 19:6
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." Exodus 19:6 KJV
Apart from the verse motioned above there is much to say about the prophetic passages particularly in Isaiah and the Psalms that talk about a glorious time in which the world turns to God (Psalm 22) the knowledge of the Lord covering the earth like the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11) . The time when Abraham will inherit the whole earth (Romans 4). These are things too glorious to ponder at the present time and will be dealt with in other articles. But much to the sadness of the author these things seem to be left by the wayside in the maze of end times schemes. They are left on the back burner while other more destructive and cataclysmic passages are brought to the forefront. For some reason these passages describing the blessedness of the spread of the Gospel do not seem to interest the modern scholar as much as they did our forefathers who went out to foreign lands and endured death, sickness and heartache to see the glorious Gospel of our Lord proclaimed in some of the darkest places on earth, who were eager to see the Lamb receive the inheritance promised to him by the Father. We must say of those men, like the author of Hebrews: “Of them the world was not worthy.” (Hebrews 11)
Eschatological Chaos
The eschatology adopted from Darby by the Evangelical church is much to blame for the confusion on the topic of Israel. Those who hold to it are stuck in the first century and can’t seem to get out. They want events that have happened to happen again. According to their scheme we need a 70 AD repeat on steroids in order for God to keep his word. At least some of them do. There seems to be a myriad of disagreements even amongst themselves about what must take place. If they are true to their views, then some will say that the current people inhabiting the land have not been miraculously regather, therefore they must be exiled once more before coming back. If this view is true then we have a long time to go before the Millennial kingdom is ushered in. Others ignoring their own writings jump to the conclusion that the very secular Belford declaration was a miracle and that they must get as many Jews into the land as possible as quickly as possible. But for what purpose, so that the Antichrist can slaughter 2/3’s of them? That’s how much they care about the Jews! They are nothing more than a pawn that they need to move around on the global chess board so that Armageddon can get under way, and we can all bid good riddance to this rotten world and take flight to the ethereal land of angels and harps. Meanwhile we can watch the chaos unfold as the Antichrist takes center stage.
What’s even more strange than this bizarre vicarious relationship between the Dispensational church and the Israelis is the insane desire it has created in the cults it has given birth to, who build their theology and salvation on the Old Covenant. One could argue that without Darby there would be no Black Hebrew Israelites. The BHI are desirous of the Old Covenantal blessing and cannot wait until the White Edomites are bowing down before them taking Rev 3:9 to be referring to themselves. There are others like the World Mission Society Church of God and the Serpent Seed movement who are eager to put themselves under the law again. But who in their right mind would desire to be under the covenant curses in Deut 28? Who would dare to foolishly subject their children to such an agreement? To do all the works of this law? Why? To receive promises? Are not all promises yes and amen in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20)? Then why? For a section of desert in the Near East? Why, for what reason and what gain is it when Christ owns the world and has all power and authority granted to Him (Matt 28:18)? Why, because of victory over enemies? Is Christ and His church not promised victory (Romans 8:37)? Only by ignoring the plain teachings of the Apostles could you possibly come to such a fool hearty conclusion. Which is better? Land and military might. Or to be a join heir with Christ and to reign on earth with Him (Rev. 5:10)?
Blood on the Hands of Believers
The suffering of the children of the flesh has been great over the last 2000 plus years. The saddest part is that Christians haven’t made things better for them one way or another at least when it comes to political matters. Whether it was persecution by the apostate Catholics during the inquisition or the writings of Martin Luther or even the well-intentioned relocating of the tribes over the last century it seems like there has been little good done. The believers of the early 20th century and Dispensational sensationalist preachers have been guilty of meddling in things they shouldn’t and have tried their best to force the hand of God, to force the return of Christ. In yet another great irony the same group that adamantly contended for Christians to leave the public square and to stop polishing the brass on the sinking titanic also fought tooth and nail within global politics in order to bring about the kingdom of God. Believers would do well to repent of this and not to ally themselves with those who are in the midst of committing war crimes. Some of their victims in the current conflict are born again Christian Palestinians and therefore are like Isaac being persecuted by Ishmael. We should have no part in condoning this bloodshed. We will have to give an account of it someday.
The Gospel: The Only Hope
After reading the above, someone may protest that there is too much emphasis on “spiritual” truths rather than teaching based in reality. It may seem this way when viewing scripture through the eyes of the Apostles, but we are not ignorant that they also gave practical instructions as well. Christianity is not some ethereal intangible religion. It is not mysticism.
We must remember to be salt and light in the world we live in, and we must not lose sight of the salvation of the world and of souls. The great commission is being carried out this very day and souls are being saved. All enemies are being placed under Christ feet because he is a conquering king! (1 Cor. 15, Rev.6:2) The kingdom of God is like leaven, which is permeating the world, it is the rock cut without human hands which destroys the kingdoms of this world and grows into a mountain that covers the whole earth. (Matt.13:33, Daniel 2) The Gospel is bringing real rewards in the here and now, for anyone complaining, they would do well to measure success by the Lord’s standard. Justice will prevail, and every knee shall bow and confess that Christ is Lord! (Isaiah 45:23, Phil 2:10-11)
If the Christian cared about the souls of Jews, they would be urging them to repent and return to their Messiah via the preaching of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). The Apostle Paul is clear in Romans 11 that there should be an expectant hope that they will turn to Christ, not by some geopolitical means or some cataclysmic event but by being provoked by jealousy. They will not be provoked to jealousy if we continue to urge them to choose Barabbas over Christ. We will not be provoked if we encourage them to expand their earthly territory and we will certainly not do so by delivering them callously over to any Anti-Christ. Let us return now to a historical approach before there is any more unnecessary bloodshed. There is no other way and no other hope but in Christ (John 14:6, John 1:13)
