Israel and The Church
Israel and the Church
By: Michael Gentosi
The following are notes from a study at our house regarding the difference between Israel and the Church.
This is a very important difference to understand especially when it comes to prophecy and future events. Mingling the two or going as far as saying the church has replaced Israel are significant errors both in the study of prophecy and theology in general. Each and every time, I will invite you to be a Berean and search the Scriptures to know they are true (Acts 17:11). Do not just take what I say or write as truth. Go to your Bible, open it, and study it for yourself.
(I will invite you to be a Berean and search the Scriptures to know they are true (Acts 17:11)
I am going to start off with an apology. Many who know me know that I am a firm supporter of Israel. In fact, I don’t believe we can really have a heart that is fully the Lord’s without being a supporter of Israel. We, in essence, reject God’s truth and blessings by not. We also fall into many traps of deception by not understanding the importance of Israel. My apology is in how I have portrayed this in the past. I have always simply stated when asked why I support Israel, “they are God’s chosen people.” That inadvertently places the emphasis on Israel. Amir Tsarfati states (a Jew himself) that it is not because of who Israel is but because of who God is.
God’s love for Israel, “ is not because of who Israel is but because of who God is.”
You will hear people say which has been said since the beginning, “if God would just give me a sign, I would believe in Him.” Well, Israel is that sign. We will cover this more the next study. Nonetheless, Israel being regathered again in her ancestral borders is proof, in fact, that God is active on His throne. It is one of the major trigger points for us to know the time is imminent. More on that to come.
Amir also states, and this blew my mind, “the wife of the Father is Israel; the bride of the Son is the Church.” I had a hard time coming to grips with this even though I have always known there is a difference between Israel and the Church. I really kind of rejected this statement as it was pretty foreign to me, so I did as a Berean would do, and studied for myself. Always know, we will not be exhaustive in our study and notes, but we will set the foundation for you to further study on your own. Now, let’s go through this.
Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 15:12-21: These two passages set the stage for God’s covenant with Abraham by blessing Him and promises a blessing to those who bless Him and a curse for those who curse Him. This should be a great warning to all of us. The subsequent passage is when God came down to actually perform the covenant ceremony. I have to give Lee props for bringing up the fact that Abraham did nothing in the ceremony. It was all God. It is about what God will do not what man can do. You see, replacing Israel with the Church or rejecting Israel’s importance in the world is really a rejection of God’s truth and in essence calls Him a liar. It’s really believing God broke His everlasting covenant. Let that simmer…
Numbers 23:1-10: This is the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak the king of Moab seeks out Balaam to curse Israel. In short, Balaam refuses and ends up blessing Israel. Balaam, a Gentile soothsayer who was well know among the nations in that time, recognized who Israel was. One additional truth that hit me while studying this is verse 9 in this passage, “…A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations.” God’s call to Israel and Christ’s to the church is be apart from the world. If you can recognize in yourself that your theology or way of living/believing is well aligned with what the world believes and how it behaves, you really, really need to do some serious heart searching!
Jeremiah 32:40: “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me.” First off, God’s covenant with Israel is everlasting. This means it has never ceased. This goes back to calling God a liar to say that is over or the Church has replaced Israel in this covenant. The Prodigal Son parable rejects that notion as well. The other important truth here is this verse looks at the entirety of time. Remember, the 70th Week or Tribulation is for Israel not the Church (more on this to come) which at the end, Israel will look on Him who they pierced (Zechariah 12) and all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). Even for someone who ignorantly rejects the Old Testament, the New Testament is full of Israel references as to what God will do with them.
Now that we have established God’s covenant with Israel, let’s look at the concept of the wife of the Father is Israel. The first reference which is pretty blatant is Isaiah 54:5. It states, “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.” You can’t get much more blatant than that. This isn’t a one off passage. Remember, you use Scripture to interpret Scripture. You can find this reference in other parallel passages. I also like verse 7: “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.” Israel is a nation again for God to show the world who He is because of why? His mercy!
Amir Tsarfati points out four distinct parts of marriage between the Father and Israel:
Marriage Deed
Betrayal
Punishment
Restored Marriage and Blessings
Ezekiel 16 in its entirety covers all four aspects listed above, but specifically with the marriage deed, 16:8 says: “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord. Similarities here with the story of Boaz and Ruth.
We can read in Hosea 2 the betrayal, punishment, and restored marriage and blessings aspects. Hosea in his own marriage relationship was a portrayal of God with Israel. Hosea’s wife left him and was a prostitute. Regarding the restoration aspect, verse 16 starts out, “And it shall be, in that day, says the Lord…” When we see this type of language, it is looking forward to language specific to God’s wrath or here the Millennial Reign when all things will be renewed on earth. Further on in verse 16, it says, “…That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master.’” It can’t get more clear than that.
Jeremiah 31:31-37 contains aspects of the betrayal and restored marriage and blessings. Verses 36-37 also provide some rhetorical situations that would cause God to break His covenant with Israel which of course will never happen. Israel is distinct in God’s eyes. They are a people set apart. We must distinguish Israel from the Church both in our Biblical mindset as well as prophetic viewpoint. Otherwise, everything gets convoluted.
Now, let’s look toward the Church as the Bride of Christ. The first passage we will look at is Romans 11:16-24. I will mention first that 16:1 must be rejected if God is done with Israel just to touch on that: “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!” Even if someone falls into the deception of rejecting the Old Testament, one must be blind when reading this verse. Nonetheless, we see speak in the Bible that Israel can be reckoned to an olive tree sometimes a fig tree. Here, we see the olive tree. In speaking to the church here, Believers are “grafted in” the olive tree. The olive tree has its roots and trunk as very much Jewish. You can prune an olive tree then graft in a branch from another olive tree. If properly cared for, it will eventually grow together with the olive tree. Here in this passage, we have the distinction between Israel and the Church. Some will take this out of context by not starting back at verse 1 and say this refers to the Church replacing Israel. You cannot make that argument when using Scripture to interpret Scripture and taking the whole counsel of God into consideration. From a military perspective, we would call this attack a false flag.
One thing I found particularly interesting is this concept of the Father as the Husband of Israel brings a different perspective of the God’s Spirit conceiving with the Virgin Mary. In bringing forth Jesus our Redeemer onto earth as a man, the Spirit conceived with Mary. Here, you have the exact portrayal of this concept.
Galatians 3:26-4:7 is our next passage. In Christ, there are no distinctions such as Israel being a distinct people unto the Father. All can approach Jesus regardless of any distinction, find forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. This passage also mentions being adopted as sons. As Believers, this is us. We can become an heir through Christ.
Amir also identifies four parts to the Bride of Christ:
Espousal
Sanctification
Marriage
Eternal Residence
Espousal: II Corinthians 11:2: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” That is pretty clear, right? I also don’t think the concept of the Bride of Christ is foreign to too many. This is pretty clear through the New Testament. The tougher part is understanding the distinction between Israel and the Church.
Sanctification: Ephesians 5:25-27: Here, we have husband and wife relationships compared to Jesus and the Church. How did Jesus cleanse us? He gave Himself up for us. He died then rose from the grave on his own accord. How do we experience this cleansing? We must know in our hearts and confess with our mouths that He came, He died, and He rose from the grave. We need to confess our sins and turn away from that which separates us from Him: our sinful ways. There is a lot of heresy taught today that we can just continue in our sin, we can and really need to affirm others’ sins, and all will just be ok. Reject this!
Marriage: Revelation 19:6-10: Here, you have the announcement of the wedding. You can do your own studying on what a Galilean wedding was like, but it has direct relationships with how the end times are set up. As the Church is the Bride of Christ, this is the first mention of anything Church since Revelation 2 and 3. All the other events that take place between 6 and 18 are focused on Israel. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on the throne room of God in Heaven. Interesting points to ponder with the distinction between Israel and the Church. I love the last sentence of Revelation 19:10 as many have been frustrated at my love and desire for prophecy. Here is what it says, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Prophecy points us to Jesus! One of the five crowns mentioned in the New Testament that are given at the Bema Seat Judgement (in Heaven following the Rapture as the 70th Week will play out on earth as Israel is made ready) is a crown for those who are in anticipation to meet Jesus in the air.
Eternal residence: Revelation 21:9-23: This describes the New Heaven and the New Earth after all this is thrown into the Lake of Fire following the final rebellion at the end of the Millennial Reign. This will be our eternal residence once every jot and tittle is fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18). In the New Jerusalem, there are twelve gates and twelve foundations. This, again, describes the difference between Israel and the Church. If you remembered last week’s notes mentioned the concept of what was will be. In verse 23, we have another one. There is no sun or moon to give light in the New Heaven and New Earth. The glory of the Lord illuminates it. Now, reference back to Genesis 1:3. There is no sun or moon, but there is light. What is the light source? John 1:5 is a good reference to this question. God’s light shines. So, we have what was in the beginning will be in the end. The shekinah glory of the Lord! AMEN!!
Next meeting for any and all who want to come: May 9th from 6:30-7:30 PM at the Gentosi’s.
MARANATHA!!!
