GOD S PLAN FOR ISRAEL S SALVATION PART 4 THE THEOLOGY OF ISRAEL

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1 I. THE MYSTERY OF ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH A. The study of Israel begins and ends with the fact of whether or not God has a purpose for them in His plan of world redemption. If God is finished with Israel there the controversy ends. But if He has an eternal purpose for them how then are we to live as the End Time Church? B. Paul the Apostle exhorts us not to be ignorant of the Mystery of Israel. Understanding God s plan for Israel will enable us to stand with them in the End Times. Many believers who are ignorant of the mystery of Israel will oppose them under pressure and in doing so will oppose God [Rom. 11:17 22]. Romans 11:25,26 I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion C. Almost all of our theology is shaped by our understanding of Israel in the plan of God. Without a Biblical paradigm of Israel s relationship to the Church we forget where we came from and where we are going. Israel is the key to all our theology (our understanding of God, His Word, and His ways). In the first century, the most heated, controversial, doctrinal issue of all that the Church faced was: How do the Gentiles fit into all this? It was a very important issue. Identity, purpose and destiny depend upon it. It nearly split the early church Today, the most heated, controversial, doctrinal issue of all that the Church faces is: How do the Jews fit into all this? The Biblical answer is crucial to a proper understanding of the entire Bible. [Dan Gruber. The Church and the Jews The Biblical Relationship p.viii] D. The entire function and mission of the Church stands or falls upon our understanding of Israel. The Church as a whole cannot understand its own identity, fulfill its own calling, or reach its own destiny without properly understanding this relationship [w/ Israel]. It must understand this relationship in accordance with the teaching of the Bible rather than according to the teaching of tradition. [Dan Gruber, The Church and the Jews The Biblical Relationship p. viii] E. There are many False Assumptions regarding the relationship between the Church and the Jews: 1. We are now under the Covenant of Grace. The nation of Israel no longer has a unique purpose in the plan of God. All OT promises now belong to the Church. 2. God s purposes for the Nation of Israel are on hold and will be continued after the Church has been removed from the earth at the rapture [i.e. Dispensationalism]. 3. God has a separate agreement w/ Israel guaranteeing their salvation. Israel will be saved regardless of their belief in Jesus. The Church doesn t need to witness the love of Christ to Jews. F. The single greatest deception related to Israel is called Replacement Theology. This teaches that because Israel refused to walk in God s call and redemptive purposes (i.e. the rejection of their Messiah) God decided to cancel all the covenant promises and has transferred them over to the Church (And coincidentally not their curses!). The Church has now completely replaced Israel in God s plan. 1 P a g e

2 a. Religious Anti Semitism (a hatred toward the Jews) within the Church can always be traced back to the false idea that God has rejected Israel and has now replaced them with the Church. G. The Apostle Paul was adamant that God has not replaced Israel with the Church. God has a sovereign purpose for them that will be fulfilled at the end of the age. Romans 11:1,2 I say then, has God cast away His people [ethnic Israel]? Certainly not! 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew In a sense, it is true that the Church has been grafted into Israel s tree, and we have become, so to speak, the Israel of God. And yes, we have come into their commonwealth, but that does not mean that the Church is Israel. There is yet a distinct, national destiny for that nation, obtained primarily through the instrumentality of the Church at the end of the age, the obtaining of which, we believe, ushers in the Lord s own Kingdom. If we blur these distinctions, we lose the glory of the reciprocal relationship between Israel and the Church. [Art Katz. The Mystery of Israel and the Church] H. Jeremiah prophesied that God would never reject the descendants of Israel. Despite Satan s attempt to destroy them they will never cease to be a nation before God. And despite Israel s hardness and rebellion God will keep and sustain them throughout every generation. Jeremiah 31:35 37 This is what the Lord says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar the Lord Almighty is his name: Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord, will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me. This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done, declares the Lord. II. THE IMPORTANCE OF BLESSING ISRAEL A. God promised in His Word that any Gentile who blesses Israel would be blessed by God. This eternal promise has operated throughout all of history and will continue into the age to come. Gen. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. Gen. 27:29 Let peoples serve you, and nations [Gentiles] bow down to you cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you. Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. Num. 24:9 Blessed is he who blesses you [Israel], and cursed is he who curses you. B. In the same way, a divine curse rests upon everyone who curses Israel (nations, churches, individuals). For example in Spain and Portugal expelled all the Jews at the request of their Christian rulers. In the years following they fell from being world powers and have been on a permanent decline. The same can be said of Germany, Russia, Poland, Lebanon, and more recently Great Britain. 2 P a g e

3 C. Israel is the apple of God s eye [Deut. 32:10], and anyone who seeks the harm Israel is likened to poking God Himself in the eye. It pains and infuriates Him when Gentile nations (and the Church) oppose His covenant people Israel. [Hebrew for touches' is to lay a hand upon, beat, strike, or cast down]. Zech. 2:8,9 For thus says the LORD of hosts He who touches you [Israel] touches the apple of His eye. 9 For surely I will shake My hand against them D. God is zealous for Israel with great zeal. Two times in the book of Zechariah God declares that His heart is burning with zeal for Zion because she is His chosen vessel through which to release His glory on the earth. God s heart has never changed, nor will it diminish in fire or passion for Israel s destiny [Mal. 3:6]. Zechariah 1:14 Thus says the LORD... "I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. Zech. 8:2 Thus says the LORD I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.' III. GOD S PLAN FOR ISRAEL S SALVATION A. Paul s heart cry as an Apostle predominantly to Gentiles was for the salvation of His people the Jews. He was grieved that Israel was missing out on God s promised blessings through faith in Jesus. Paul would rather lose his salvation and be cut off from Christ for just one of his Jewish brothers to be saved. Romans 9:1 4 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved B. All throughout History God has stretched out His hand to bring salvation to the people of Israel. Israel however chose to establish their own righteousness according to the law rather than submit to the righteousness of God that comes through faith [Rom. 4:13; 9:30,31; 10:4; Galatians 3:1 29]. Romans 9:30 32 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone... Romans 10:2 4 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 3 P a g e

4 Galatians 3:21 22,24 For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. C. Because of Israel s spiritual hardness and rejection of their Messiah salvation has come to the Gentiles. God s hidden motive of bringing salvation to the Nations is to provoke Israel to jealousy. Everywhere Paul went he boasted of His ministry to bring about a godly jealousy in Israel. Romans 10:19 21 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation [Gentiles], I will move you to anger by a foolish nation." 20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: "I was found by those who did not seek Me [Gentiles]; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me." 21 But to Israel he says: "All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people." Romans 11:11 14 Through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles 13 Inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. D. The Church cannot stand with Israel in the End Times or provoke them to jealousy if we are completely unaware of God s End Time plan for their redemption. Paul gave three essential parts of God s End Time plan for Israel and the Nations [Rom. 11:25 26]: 1. ISRAEL S BLINDNESS Jewish people have temporary spiritual blindness related to seeing Jesus as their Messiah (vv.25). 2. ISRAEL S PROVOKING The fullness of the Gentiles will provoke Israel to seek Jesus and turn to Him (vv.25,11). 3. ISRAEL S REVIVAL All of Israel will be saved and brought to fullness in context to Jesus Second Coming (vv.26,12). Romans 11:25 26 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer [Jesus] will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; E. Israel s Blindness Jewish people have a temporary spiritual blindness. Though Israel doesn t recognize Jesus as the Messiah, God is not through with His purposes for her. Blindness is TEMPORARY and does not mean that Israel has fallen from her original calling to have a major role in the Millennium. Rom. 11:7 8 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written: God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day. 4 P a g e

5 Rom. 11:25 Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 2 Cor. 3:14 16 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. F. Israel s Provoking The fullness of the Gentiles (the Great Harvest) will provoke Israel to jealousy. The fullness of the Gentiles is the greatest revival in all of History that is yet to come [Rev. 7:9 14]. When the full number of Gentiles comes in the blindness will be forever removed from Israel to receive Jesus. Rom. 11:11 Through their [Israel s] fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Deut. 32:21 I will provoke them [Israel] to jealousy by those who are not a nation [Gentiles]; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. G. Israel s Revival All Israel will be saved at the time of the Second Coming. The Millennial reign of Jesus will be the first time in history in which ALL ISRAEL will be saved. This means that all of the Jewish people who survive the Great Tribulation will become born again believers in Jesus. Rom. 11:26 All Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer [Jesus] will come Zechariah 12:10 I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass in all the land, Says the LORD, That two thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one third shall be left in it: I will bring the one third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, This is My people ; And each one will say, The LORD is my God. Matthew 23:39 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Zechariah 14:2 5 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley 5 P a g e

6 IV. BECOMING LIVING SACRIFICES FOR ISRAEL S SAKE A. The Apostle Paul concludes his Israel and the Church message with an astounding statement in Chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 are not independent verses to help us walk in greater levels of sanctification. They are directly related to the message Paul just gave concerning Israel. Romans 12:1,2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. B. Therefore or in light of this reality present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice. In other words, understanding prophetically and developing a heart for Israel will ultimately provoke the Church into new levels of glory, purity, and power at the end of the age. C. By knowing what is coming and where God is calling the Church to stand in regards to Israel will cause us to give our very best to God. The mystery is far greater than us it has to do with the nations being saved and Israel being restored to her original destiny. D. Will you respond to this call and present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God? The destiny of Israel, the Church, and the Nations is waiting upon people who will give themselves to God with reckless abandonment. Then, and only then, will we become a people who will provoke the Jews to jealousy and usher in the Second Coming of Yeshua! 6 P a g e