There has been an ever-growing interest with the Jews and Israel as Christians search the news for signs of the Lord’s return and the restoration of modern Israel, in what many believe will be a fulfillment of Old Testament bible prophecy. For the last two generations, pastors, authors, and bible school teachers have been promoting a view of the “end times” based upon their understanding of a future rapture, a seven-year tribulation, and ultimately, the return of Christ to Zion to reestablish modern Israel in what they believe will be a fulfillment of the old covenant between the Lord and Israel.
According to this modern view, the moral condition of the world is necessarily growing worse and worse as we reach the climax of the end times, which we be marked by the inexplicable disappearance of the Christians immediately followed by a horrific seven-year tribulation period. Many believe that following a seven-year tribulation, the Lord will call all the Jews to Israel and establish his millennial kingdom according to Revelation 20. In the millennial kingdom, the Jewish Messiah will reign from Mount Zion, reinstate the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Covenant, and destroy all of the enemies of Israel.
You are likely unaware that the Church did not hold to these views prior to the year 1830. This modern view of eschatology, or the study of the end of the world, began in the 1830’s with a man by the name of John Nelson Darby, who believed that the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament are both unconditional and unfulfilled. He believed that the Church was only a temporary institution and not a continuation of the faithful remnant of Israel. In his view, people today are saved by grace through faith in Christ. But when the Church Age is completed, all Jews will be saved according to the unfulfilled promises made to the nation.
Darby’s view of the end times is known as dispensational premillennialism, or simply dispensationalism. I have outlined both the origins and fallacies of this system in my book The End of the End Times and in my ten-part video series also titled The End of the End Times on my YouTube channel.
In this paper, I wish to focus on the belief held by many Christians today that at some time in our future, the Lord is going to call all the Jews to Zion and restore the modern nation of Israel in what many believe will be a fulfillment of the covenants with Israel. Specifically, I wish to show that the modern view that has shaped Christianity since the 1830’s is based upon two fundamental misunderstandings: (1) What it means to be a Jew, and (2) the nature of the covenants of the Old Testament.
Merely questioning the beliefs of the modern end-times system can bring accusations of antisemitism. For example, consider the claims of Dr. Michael Brown, a “Messianic” Jew who holds a dispensational view of modern Israel. Dr. Brown has proclaimed publicly that someone who doesn’t believe that the Lord is going to restore modern Israel believes a the doctrine called replacement theology, which he says is based on antisemitism. Since the term replacement theology is likely to come up in conversations about modern Israel, it is useful to explain it here.
Replacement theology is a straw-man argument that proponents of the modern end-times view use to discredit non-dispensationalists. Dispensationalists typically claim that those who do not hold to the modern end-times view believe that the Church has replaced the nation of Israel - a belief they say is antisemitic. This is an incorrect accusation. The correct understanding is that the Church is a logical continuation of the faithful remnant of Israel who accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Initially, Christians were all Jews. But now the Church includes people of all nations. The Church is a Jewish institution that later included Gentiles.
Since the term antisemite often comes up in these conversations, we need to have a better understanding of what it means to be a Semite. Most people, Christian, Jew, or otherwise, do not have a proper understanding of what Semite means. Or at least, they do not use the term correctly. And most people today associate the term Semite with Jew, or Israeli. As we will see, that is an improper use of these terms.
The word Semite refers to the descendants of Shem, who is the father of all the Semitic nations (Genesis 10:21-31). After the Great Flood, we are told in Genesis, Noah left the ark with his three sons, Japheth, Shem, and Ham. The descendants of Japheth mostly migrated to modern Europe. The descendants of Ham settled in Egypt, and also in Canaan before they were driven from the land by the nation of Israel. We are mostly interested in the descendants of Shem.
Shem fathered five sons, three of which are Elam, Arphaxad, and Aram. As we will see shortly, Arphaxad is the ancestral origin of Abraham and the nation of Israel. Before we discuss Abraham and Israel, let’s take a look at two of Shem’s other sons. The first is Aram, who is the father of Syria. In both the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament, such as 2 Kings and Isaiah, Aram figures prominently in its dealings with Israel. Aram is often used interchangeably with Damascus, which was the principal city of Syria (Aram). Throughout their history, Aram and Israel were generally hostile toward one another.
The second of Shem’s sons we will consider is Elam, the nation that produced Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. In the sixth century BC, Cyrus united the nation of Elam with the nation of Media to its north. The combined nation became Medo-Persia, which is discussed throughout the Bible. It was Cyrus the Great who issued the famous decree in 537 BC that allowed the scattered remnant of Israel to return to their land following the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. The modern Iranians are the descendants of the Persians.
Therefore, as we see, the term Semitic or antisemitism is often misapplied. Israel is one of many Semitic nations, though the term antisemitism is always used to describe someone who has negative views toward the modern Jews, many of whom are not even descendants of Abraham. There were and still are other Semitic nations besides the nation of Israel. Labeling someone with the broad brush of antisemitic would imply that the person also has a disliking of Syrians and Iranians, as well as Jews.
Let us now turn to Shem’s son Arphaxad. The Bible lists the following genealogy in Genesis chapter 11:
Noah -> Shem -> Arphaxad -> Shelah -> Eber -> Peleg -> Reu -> Serug -> Nahor -> Terah -> Abram
We are mostly interested in Abram, as our focus will be on the Lord’s promises and covenants established with him. We note that there are nine generations from Shem to Abram. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham after the Lord established his covenant with him. We will continue our discussion of Abraham in the next section.
Abram was a righteous man. Though he didn’t perfectly obey the Lord, nevertheless he walked in faith as the writer of Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 11:8-10). Abram had been living in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans, in ancient Babylon. The Lord instructed Abram to take his family to the land of Canaan and promised that “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3 NIV).
This promise, made 4000 years ago, has been a source of confusion for Christians today. The passage states that all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abram. Has this happened? According to Hebrews it has already happened: “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12). But who are Abram’s descendants? And what does it mean to bless Abram? Many Christians believe that blessing modern Israel is to bless Abram. And that failing to bless Israel is to curse Abram, which they believe will bring the curse of Genesis 12:3 upon those who do not. Is this what the passage really means? We will get to these questions shortly.
After Abram arrived to Canaan, the Lord spoke to him: “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7 NIV). Some time later, the Lord made a covenant with Abram and swore that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that he would receive the land of Canaan that the Lord had promised. Abram was told that his offspring would first endure hardship for 400 years as they would be enslaved by another nation (Genesis 15:4-7,13).
Later, the Lord established the covenant of circumcision with Abram and at that time changed his name to Abraham. The Lord spoke to Abraham: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7-8 NIV).
So there is the promise that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars. That he would become the father of many nations. And that through Abraham, peoples of all nations would be blessed. And finally, that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land of Canaan as an everlasting promise. Were these promises unconditional? They were not. For the Lord himself stated that “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:18-19 NIV).
Abraham was the father of Isaac, whom the Bible refers to as the Son of the Promise. His name is significant, because the Bible states that all who put their faith in Jesus Christ become sons of the promise (Galatians 4:28). Isaac had a son Jacob, who became the father of the nation of Israel. We now turn to the nation of Israel.
Jacob was a righteous man like his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. His father Isaac instructed him to not marry from among the Canaanite women in the land they were living, but to choose a wife in Paddan Aram, the land of his mother’s family. Jacob travelled to Paddan Aram in search of a wife and it was here that he met Rachel. He married Rachel and served his father-in-law Laban for seven years as a condition to marry his daughter. He also married Rachel’s sister, Leah. Jacob’s sons are:
From Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin
From Leah:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun
From Bilhah, Rachel’s servant:
Dan and Naphtali
From Zilpah, Leah’s servant:
Gad and Asher
The Bible tells us that Jacob wrestled with God. We aren’t given the reason for this. But we are told that after the encounter the Lord told Jacob: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28 NIV). Note that this is the first time the name “Israel” occurs in human history. Jacob’s twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel. And the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would pass on to the sons of Jacob. But before they could receive the promises made to Abraham, the Lord had a long journey prepared for them that they must first travel.
Joseph, born to Rachel, was Jacob’s favorite son. The Lord had a special purpose for Joseph that was long and difficult, but ultimately resulted in the salvation of Jacob’s family and in the fulfillment of God’s divine plan for the nation of Israel. In a dream, Joseph saw his father, mother, and his brothers bowing down to him, and he revealed the dream to his family. In their jealousy, Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him, but ultimately sold him to traveling Midianite merchants, who then took Joseph to Egypt, where he became a slave. But the Lord had other plans for Joseph. Through divine intervention, Joseph would over time become one of the top officials in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.
After many years, Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt in search of food during a great famine. Joseph had been placed in charge of the food stores of Egypt. It was in this capacity that he encountered his brothers. Joseph saw in this God’s plan to preserve his family and so he forgave his brothers and the family was reunited. Jacob’s entire family moved to Egypt, where they lived under the protection of Joseph and Pharaoh. After many years, the families of the twelve sons of Jacob increased in size until they became a great nation. But after a time, the entire nation was reduced to slavery, and the people started to cry out to the Lord for help. Finally, the Lord raised up his servant Moses to deliver his people from Egypt.
After leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses led the nation to Mount Sinai. It was here that Moses would receive the Ten Commandments. And it was here that the nation of Israel would become God’s covenant people.
The Lord spoke to Moses from the mountain and gave him these words to speak to the descendants of Jacob: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5 NIV). We see that Israel was to obey the Lord if they were to remain his people. Some time later, Moses, his brother Aaron, and seventy elders went up to the mountain to confirm the covenant. Afterwards, when Moses presented the Lord’s plan for the nation, they all responded with one voice: “Everything the Lord has said we will do” (Exodus 24:3 NIV).
It is at this point that the nation of Israel is transformed from an ethnic body into a covenant people. Being a descendant of Abraham did not automatically qualify a person to remain in the covenant, as both the Old Testament and New Testament indicate. Let’s take a closer look at the Lord’s covenant with the people.
First, we see that the assembly that Moses led out of Egypt was a mixed race of people. The nation was made up of about 600,000 men besides women and children. And many other people who were not of Israel went up with them (Exodus 12:37-38). We note that a foreigner could integrate into the covenant community through circumcision (Exodus 12:48). And a person who was a descendant of Abraham could be “cut off from the people of Israel” if he or she disobeyed certain laws (Leviticus 17-18). So we see that from the very beginning, being a descendant of Abraham did not guarantee a person would remain in the covenant forever. Nor did being a foreigner disqualify a person from entering into the covenant.
This is demonstrated in the following passage from the prophet Isaiah: “And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant — these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7 NIV).
Let’s further explore the matter of ethnicity. Joseph had two sons born to him in Egypt by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On (Genesis 46:20). The sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, became two of the tribes of Israel, and yet their mother was Egyptian. We have other examples of intermarriage between Israel and foreigners. An entire book in the Bible is devoted to Ruth, who was a Moabitess. Her love and devotion toward her mother-in-law Naomi, who was from Israel, were so pronounced that she is model of human love and kindness. Ruth, though from the nation of Moab, is the grandmother of King David, and indeed, she is matriarch of the entire kingly line of Israel up to the time of Jesus.
Under the Mosaic Covenant, men were permitted to intermarry with foreigners: “When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife” (Deuteronomy 21:10-11 NIV). These men were to remain faithful to the Lord and to not follow the gods and goddesses of their foreign wives. This was not always the case. After the Israelite community began to take possession of Canaan, the people began to serve foreign gods: “The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods” (Judges 3:5-6 NIV).
So we see that Israel was not a homogeneous nation but rather was a covenant people. As long as a person remained faithful to the Lord, he would remain in the covenant regardless of his race. This is contrary to the contemporary idea that the modern Jews remain the Lord’s covenant people on the basis of race. If it was not the Lord’s purpose to establish a nation on the basis of ethnic identify, then what was the purpose of the Old Testament covenant?
When most Christians think about Israel and Jews, they envision a nation that for a time has lost its former glory. But in the near future, they believe, the Lord is going to restore the nation and return all the Jews to their homeland. This argument might be valid if the Lord’s purpose for establishing a Jewish nation was to establish a Jewish nation. But that wasn’t the ultimate purpose for the nation. Its purpose had always been to be a light to all nations and to reveal the one true God to all people on earth.
From the time of Moses until Christ, Israel was the Lord’s covenant people and they were expected to walk in obedience. Then Israel would be blessed and all the nations on earth would learn of the true God. The nations that blessed the people of Israel on account of their God would in turn be blessed as they learned to obey God. And finally, through faith and obedience to the Lord, people from all nations would inherit the promises and blessings made to Abraham.
We can see the Lord’s ultimate design in the following passage from Isaiah: “In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance’” (Isaiah 19:24-25 NIV). This passage, of course, describes a Messianic age when the word of God would go out from Jerusalem to all the nations. This would ultimately be fulfilled through Christ and his Church.
Did Israel fulfill its purpose? Did the nation bring light to other nations? Ultimately, yes. But not while the nation was under the Mosaic Covenant. It was through Christ and the Church that light has gone out into the world to reveal the Lord’s purposes for mankind. But if this is the case, then what was the purpose for Israel and for the Mosaic Covenant? Let’s take a look at two of the covenants from the Old Testament and see how they were used to fulfill God’s promises to the faithful remnant of Israel.
The promises to Abraham and to his offspring are given in the Abrahamic Covenant. Those promises were extended to the nation of Israel as long as the people walked in obedience. But before the promises could be realized, the Lord chose Israel to be his covenant people under the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was a covenant not of grace but of the law. The Mosaic Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant do not conflict with each other. Rather, the former was meant to preserve the promises of the latter.
Paul explains the relationship between the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant in Galatians chapters 3-4. He describes Israel as being placed under a custodianship until such time that the inheritance could rightfully be received. The custodianship represents the Mosaic Covenant (the law) and the inheritance symbolizes the Abrahamic Covenant (the promise). While under the Mosaic Covenant, Israel was to walk in obedience and to be a light to all nations, all for the glory of the Lord. We see in the following passages:
— God bestows his blessings on a people so that all the nations may know him: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us — so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations” (Psalm 67:1-2 NIV).
— The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt for his namesake: “But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites” (Ezekiel 20:9 NIV).
— Even when a nation disobeys the Lord, he punishes that nation for his namesake (Ezekiel 20:14,22; 36:22).
— The Lord restored Israel for his glory: “Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 36:36 NIV).
Did Israel accomplish what was intended? Sadly, because of the sins of the nation, they did not: “We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life” (Isaiah 26:18 NIV). But God’s plans cannot be undone by man’s failings. Israel would ultimately bring salvation and light to all the nations, but it was through their Messiah that this would happen. Salvation now comes through Christ, and this offer of salvation is for all people. Does this mean that the Mosaic Covenant failed? No, for throughout all of Israel’s history, there was always a remnant whom the Lord saved.
The apostle Paul explains that a remnant of Jews living under the Mosaic Covenant were brought into the New Covenant by grace: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5 NIV). These are Jewish Christians to whom Paul refers. Through grace, they became part of the body of Christ i.e. the Church. And what does Jesus require of his Church? “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15 NIV).
So we see that in Christ, the faithful remnant of Israel was able to accomplish what the greater nation of Israel failed to do while under the Mosaic Covenant. Just as Israel was to be a light unto the world, that mission now belongs to the Church. As we noted previously, it was always the Lord’s purpose to save men and women from all nations. This continues today, but it is not through the nation of Israel living under the Mosaic Covenant that this happens. Today, men and women are saved only through faith in Christ.
Up until now, we have not used the terms Jew or Jewish to describe ancient Israel, and you might be wondering why. The reason is that Jew was not used until the sixth century BC, following the Babylonian captivity of Judah. We will turn our attention to these details.
King David, who was of the tribe of Judah, had planned to build a large temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. He never got to fulfill his dream. However, the temple was built by King Solomon, David’s son. Following the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel was ruled by King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. King Solomon departed from the ways of the Lord, and his son Rehoboam ruled the nation unwisely. The result was that the northern ten tribes of Israel revolted and established their own kingdom in 931 BC. Only the tribe of Benjamin remained united with Judah. From 931 BC until 537 BC, there were two nations: the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern nation of Israel. It is important to understand this distinction when reading the historical and prophetic books of the Bible.
The northern nation of Israel was never ruled by a godly king. Over time, the Lord began to punish Israel. The Lord used the nation of Assyria as his rod of wrath, which attacked Israel over a period of many years. After the final assault, the entire nation was conquered and the people were taken into captivity. This occurred in 722 BC. It was the practice of Assyrian kings to deport the people of conquered nations to other lands, and so the people of the ten northern tribes of Israel were scattered among other nations within the Assyrian Empire.
The southern kingdom of Judah did not fair much better. Judah was at times ruled by godly kings such as Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Nevertheless, the people continually turned to the gods of other nations and this provoked the Lord to anger. God raised up the nation of Babylon to destroy Judah. Beginning in 607 BC, Babylon began to assault the nation. It was during this time that the prophet Daniel was taken to Babylon and the prophet Ezekiel was taken into captivity to live among the exiles near the Chebar River. Jerusalem was ultimately conquered by Babylon in 586 BC. The city and the temple were completely destroyed.
Another prophet who lived during this time was Jeremiah. Unlike Daniel and Ezekiel, Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem and prophesied against the nation during the Babylonian assault. His warnings to the kings and to the officials were met only with anger and hostility. Jeremiah was at times kept in chains. After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was taken captive by his own people who were left in charge of the city and he was taken down to Egypt against his will.
As with the Assyrian invasion of Israel, many captives were taken into Babylonian exile. Only a remnant of the people of Judah were left in the land. It is at this time that these people were first called Jews: “When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah…they all came back to the land of Judah…from all the countries where the had been scattered” (Jeremiah 40:11-12 NIV). Again, “This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt…” (Jeremiah 44:1).
This is the first instance of the word “Jew” in all of history and it is associated with the scattered remnant of the tribe of Judah following the Babylonian captivity of the southern kingdom. As we see from our study so far, the terms Jew, Israelite, and Semite, often used to describe the modern Jews, are not synonymous.
At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, there were still two covenants in effect. These would remain so until the time of Christ. Israel was under the Mosaic Covenant and they were promised an inheritance by the Abrahamic Covenant. Jeremiah prophesied that “the days are coming” when the Lord will make a new covenant with the people of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-37) and when the Lord will fulfill the good promise he made to the people of Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 33:14-26). Jeremiah is prophesying about both the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant and the end of the Mosaic Covenant. Both of the old covenants find their perfect fulfillment in the New Covenant that Jesus inaugurated at the Last Supper with his Jewish disciples.
First, consider the passage in Jeremiah 31:31-37. We note several characteristics of the New Covenant: (1) The law will be in the minds and written on the hearts of the people, (2) the Lord will be their God and they will be his people, (3) the Lord will remember their sins no more, and (4) Israel will never cease to be a nation. Have these things come to pass? Yes, they have.
This new covenant, spoken of by Jeremiah, could only be fulfilled through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Consider what took place at Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection. In Acts chapter 2, we read of the disciples being filled with the Holy Spirit, as spoken by Peter, who was quoting from the Old Testament prophet Joel: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days…And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:28-32 NIV).
Joel is not describing some future end times concerning the modern nation of Israel. He is describing what took place at Pentecost in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-37. The law, once given through Moses and the prophets, is now revealed through the Holy Spirit: “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement” (John 16:7-8 NIV).
Jeremiah goes on and describes how the Lord will be their God forever. This is fulfilled in Christ: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15 NIV). Nothing can separate the sheep from the Good Shepherd.
Jeremiah promises the people that the Lord will remember their sins no more. Has this been fulfilled? The writer of Hebrews states: “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14 NIV). Israel looked forward to a time when they would no longer be required to perform animal sacrifices. In Christ, all our sins are forgotten. The Jeremiah passage is fulfilled in Christ.
But what about the statement that Israel will never cease to be a nation? Many people believe that this describes a future time when the Lord will draw all the Jews to Israel and restore the nation. But is that what Jeremiah is describing? Before we answer this, let’s consider the passage in Jeremiah 33:14-26.
Jeremiah describes a “righteous branch” who will sprout from David’s line and who will sit on the throne of Israel forever. The Lord also promises that “I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (Jeremiah 33:22 NIV). The passage concludes with a promise concerning David that “one of his sons” will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob forever. Again, is this describing a future end times? Or have these events already occurred?
Consider how Israel lived under the Mosaic Covenant. There were three characteristics of this covenant: (1) The sacrificial system, (2) a priesthood to carry out the sacrifices, and (3) a temple for worship. Does the Lord really intend for Israel to return to this system, as many dispensationalists insist?
The Mosaic Covenant had sacrifices to deal with the sins of the nation. But the sacrifices could never completely take away the guilt from the nation: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4 NIV). And after Jesus gave up his life as a sacrifice for sins, there is no longer a need for further sacrifices: “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14 NIV).
What about the promise that the Levites who minister before the Lord will be as countless as the stars in heaven? Does this describe a future restoration of Israel and a reinstatement of the priesthood? Consider who are the priests in the New Covenant: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV). Peter is describing Christians. We who are in Christ are the royal priesthood described in the passage. As Christians, we stand directly before God and minister to him daily. Indeed, the number of Christians since the time of Jesus’ death has become like the stars in heaven.
In other words, both the Mosaic Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant find their perfect fulfillment in the New Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant has been replaced by a more perfect covenant that no longer requires sacrifices. And the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are now granted to all who put their faith in Jesus.
Many Christians believe that there must be a third temple in Jerusalem before Christ can return. We we have seen from Hebrews and 1 Peter that there is no need for a priesthood or a return to animal sacrifices. What about a temple for worship? Jesus addressed this as he was speaking to the religious leaders: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19 NIV). Jesus is telling the religious leaders that a time is coming when a physical temple is no longer needed to worship the Lord. The Lord himself will dwell within us. We who are in Christ are the temple of the Lord: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV).
So the Bible does not predict a future restoration of Israel. We see throughout the Bible that it was always a remnant of Israel that was saved from destruction. Not all of Israel was permitted to enter into the promised land following the exodus. Only a remnant of Israel returned to the land following the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. Finally, it was the faithful remnant of Jews who followed Christ as their Messiah. The apostle Paul makes it clear that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children” (Romans 9:6-7 NIV). The Lord has saved all of Israel. But “Israel” doesn’t refer to a nation or to a people; rather it is the body of all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Indeed, salvation doesn’t come through one’s nationality or ethnicity. It comes by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Recall what the Lord spoke to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3 NIV). Many Christians recite this as if it were some sort of incantation. That if we bless Israel we will be blessed. But if we do not, the Lord will surely curse our nation. But that isn’t what the verse means at all. By blessing Abraham, one was blessing the God of Abraham. The nation of Israel is now a spiritual body made up of the followers of Lord Jesus, who are all the true descendants of Abraham - whether Jew of Gentile. Therefore, to bless Abraham now takes on a new meaning. It means to bless the Church, which is the body of believers who are called out to serve Christ. The Lord indeed continues to bless all nations. But he is doing this through the Church apart from Israel.
What of the promise of the land? Many people misunderstand the promise of the land to Abraham and to his offspring. The physical land of Israel was only a shadow of the true promise, which was always a heavenly home. The transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant is a transition from the physical to the spiritual. Jesus is on the throne of David forever in the heavenly realm and he has made an everlasting atonement for us. We have the law written upon our hearts and revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. And we have an eternal heavenly home: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2 NIV).
This is also stated in Hebrews. The men and women of faith since Abel had always been looking forward to an eternal home. They always regarded themselves as strangers in a foreign land who were not thinking of their own country. “Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16 NIV). Could it be any clearer? Being a child of God is not a matter of ethnicity. Or of a physical land. Or of a temple, or priesthood, or animal sacrifices. It has always been about the object of the affections of our heart.
The modern framework of the end times did not exist prior to the early 1800’s. It was promoted through the teachings of John Nelson Darby, and continues to grow in popularity today. The modern framework, called dispensationalism, insists that the promises and covenants with the ancient nation of Israel have not yet been fulfilled and are still binding today.
The term Semite refers to a descendant of Shem, one of the three sons of Noah. Abraham was a ninth-generation descendant of Shem. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. Jacob’s twelve sons were the foundation for the nation of Israel. There are other Semitic nations that exist today apart from Israel.
God promised to Abram that he would become the father of many nations and that all nations on earth would be blessed through him. After God established the Abrahamic Covenant, he changed Abram’s name to Abraham. The Lord promised to Abraham the land of Canaan as an inheritance for him and for his descendants.
The Lord led the nation of Israel out of Egypt and then to Mount Sinai, where he established the Mosaic Covenant with the people. Israel is no longer an ethnic nation but rather is a covenant people who were to be obedient to the Lord and a light to other nations. Like the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant was conditional based upon obedience.
In 931 BC, the nation of Israel divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Israel was taken into Assyrian captivity in 722 BC and Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity in 586 BC. The remnant of the people who remained in Judah following the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC were the first people called Jews.
The prophet Jeremiah described a new covenant for the people that would be better than the old covenant. There would no longer be a need for a priesthood, for animal sacrifices, or for a temple. Jesus spoke to his disciples of the New Covenant at the Last Supper. Jesus became the final sacrifice for all of mankind at his death on the cross and resurrection.
The New Covenant fulfills both the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant. Through his sacrifice, Jesus has satisfied the requirements of the Mosaic Covenant. Those who accept what Jesus did receive the blessings and promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Therefore, the promises to Abraham are now promises for the Church of Jesus Christ.