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To: GiovannaNicoletta
The article in its error misidentifies just who “Israel” is in God's sight. Hence the full import of the prophecies of Israel's restoration are misunderstood.

For example, both Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's prophecies of the restoration of Israel and Judah foretold what would take place after the Jews returned from Babylon. The land would be filled, the temple rebuilt, etc. and these things did, in fact, occur.

But the N.T. makes the point that there was a larger and even more significant fullfillment of these prophecies involving not an earthly kingdom but the heavenly one.

It was on heavenly thrones that the apostles and others chosen would rule and act as kings and priests over the whole earth, not a small portion in the Middle East.(Rev. 20:4-7)

Another example of the authors misunderstanding of the Scriptures is the statement:

“Believing Gentiles cannot be incorporated into Israel because Paul says they are now part of a new structure—the new man.”

But Paul says exactly the opposite! In Romans 11:17-24 Paul uses the olive tree as an illustration. He says the natural olive tree, Israel, had branches lopped off due to lack of faith and that the Romans though of wild stock had been grafted in to become part of that tree.
If God was willing to lop off the natural branches for their lack of faith how much more so the Romans for lack of faith.
And should those natural branches, Israelites, show faith they could be grafted back in again.

Jesus said the kingdom would be taken from the Jewish nation and given to a nation, spiritual Israel with its king/priests in heaven, producing its fruits.

The author of this article simply cannot bring forward a coherent understanding of whom God views as “Israel” or what His kingdom is.

45 posted on 05/02/2012 6:26:29 AM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change
The article in its error misidentifies just who “Israel” is in God's sight. Hence the full import of the prophecies of Israel's restoration are misunderstood.

It does? Well, let's just take a look at who Israel is in God's sight.

These facts about how God defines Israel tells us without a doubt that the Church has not replaced Israel. In addition, we have these Scriptures that tell us that the New Covenant was made with Israel, and the Church was added in by nothing but the mercy of God:

So we know, straight from the lips of God and without any doubt whatsoever, that Israel is a different entity than the Church, that God has different purposes for Israel, that He indeed does have future plans for Israel, that the New Covenant was intended for Israel first, and that God will absolutely redeem His people and they will come to Him for salvation.

Now we know who Israel is in God's sight. He has told us who Israel is in His sight with no room for misunderstanding and no room for deliberately lying about who Israel is in His sight.

For example, both Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's prophecies of the restoration of Israel and Judah foretold what would take place after the Jews returned from Babylon. The land would be filled, the temple rebuilt, etc. and these things did, in fact, occur.

God give Ezekiel an illustration of the future using two sticks. Ezekiel took two sticks, one representing Judah, and one representing the northern kingdom of Israel. God tells Ezekiel, ”join the sticks” together in his hand; these sticks represent the future union of the divided tribes under the name Israel. There will no longer two tribes but one nation, called “Israel”. The Israelites were taken captive by Assyria in 722 B.C., while Judah was taken captive in 605, 597 and 586 B.C. by Babylon. Now both tribes were in the same land, since Babylon defeated Assyria. In the future, the nation would be known as Israel. And, in 70AD, the Jews began the diaspora, in fulfillment of prophecy, for over 2000 years, and in the late 19th century, God began to bring His people back to the land He gave them, just as He said He was going to.

When they resettle the land of Israel, they would resettle it as one people. Only twice since the Babylonian captivity, did a Jewish nation exist, once during the Maccabean period (164-63 B.C.) and once in our day (1948- Current). Only in our day, did the Jewish kingdom have the name Israel, thus beginning to fulfill the words of Ezekiel written 2600-years ago.

It wasn't until 1948 that the prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled. The nation of Israel was reestablished, it was named Israel, and God continues to bring His people back from among the nations to the land that He gave them, and He continues to keep His promises that He made to them.

Since the second temple, built after the Babylonian captivity, was destroyed by the Romans, and God tells us that there will be a temple in place during the Tribulation in which the Antichrist will stand and declare Himself to be God, and there is not currently a temple in Israel, then we know that that prophecy has not been fulfilled but will be sometime in the future.

But the N.T. makes the point that there was a larger and even more significant fullfillment of these prophecies involving not an earthly kingdom but the heavenly one.

It was on heavenly thrones that the apostles and others chosen would rule and act as kings and priests over the whole earth, not a small portion in the Middle East.(Rev. 20:4-7)

This is a description of what John was shown in Heaven which will be in existence during the Tribulation. The verse then goes on to say that the Church will serve with Christ during his Millennial Kingdom on earth. We also know from Luke 1:32-33 that His 1000 year kingdom will be a literal, earthly kingdom, where Christ's throne will be in Jerusalem, and we know from Matthew 19:28 that the twelve Jewish apostles will rule the twelve tribes of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom.

All of this will take place in Jerusalem, which is in the Middle East.

Jesus said the kingdom would be taken from the Jewish nation and given to a nation, spiritual Israel with its king/priests in heaven, producing its fruits.

The fact that the kingdom was taken away from the Jews and given to another nation, aka the Church, is a temporary condition, as the Church age will end at the Rapture. As we know from the Scriptures listed above, Israel will be purified and redeemed and saved and will go back to being what God originally intended them to be. He will write His law on their hearts, they will not have to be taught His law, and, unlike Gentiles during the Millennial Kingdom, there will not be one unsaved Jew.

The author of this article simply cannot bring forward a coherent understanding of whom God views as “Israel” or what His kingdom is

On the contrary, it is those who have to approach the Bible already deceived and enslaved to the demonic doctrine of replacement theology who have to twist Scripture to make it fit their false doctrines, and when that doesn't work, allegorize and spirualize the Scriptures, in direct disobedience to God, to try to make the Bible fit their false doctrines.

There is not one verse in the Bible that supports replacement theology, and replacement theologists have no problem denying the four-fifths of the Bible that detail God's future plans for His chosen, covenant people in order to attempt to force Scripture into validating the demonic teaching of replacement theology that they love.

It is replacement theologists who lie about Israel and what God's intentions toward His covenant nation are who don't have a coherent understanding about Israel.

46 posted on 05/02/2012 8:51:18 AM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta ("....in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking... (2 Peter 3:3))
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