As is the case with most Christians in the world today, I was taught that the Rapture of the Saints was an event that would take place before the 7 year tribulation period, and the tribulation period would be the last 7 years before Christ returned to set up His Kingdom on Earth. Christ’s Kingdom on Earth is referred to as the Millennial Reign, or 1,000 year Reign of Christ. My problem with that scenario came about by some serious Bible study that began in the book of Exodus. I will relate that journey with you in this article, but for brevity’s sake, I will not bore you with an entire book….. yet.

As I said, I was studying the book of Exodus and I came to the actual Exodus account beginning roughly around Exodus chapter 12 through 14.  Through all of this, I was keeping in mind that Romans chapter 2 seemed to be very clear that a “true Jew” was one that had been changed inwardly and not just outwardly.  So the physical Jewish nation weren’t necessarily spiritually reborn, but God was using that nation to teach us something about His Covenant with man by a visual illustration.  I wanted to know what the purpose of Israel was, and what did the Exodus teach us about salvation.  What did the crossing of the Red Sea represent?  What did the Promised Land illustrate?  Who is the Church, and how is the Church related to Israel.  These are very important questions in our day because there are several different views on the Church’s relationship to Israel.

Some would say that the Church has “replaced” Israel as God’s chosen people.  This is referred to as “Replacement Theology” or “Supercessionism”.   The idea with Replacement Theology is that the blessings, curses and promises that were given to Physical Israel are now transferred to the Church and no longer apply to the Jews at all.  The implications of this view are that many of the rituals and commandments given to the Old Testament Jews are transferred to the Church also.   The only other option given to Christians in our day is “Dispensationalism”, or “Premillennialism”, which teaches that Israel and the Church are completely different entities, and that the New Testament Church has no connection whatsoever to Israel at all.  Premillennialism teaches that there are two economies (or groups of people) that can be called God’s Chosen People.  The first group is Israel, and the second being the Church of Jesus Christ.  Premillennialists believe that in the end (the last dispensation), God will finally make good on His promise to Israel and they will receive the promised land forever.

Now, here is what I found.  In 2 Samuel chapter 7, after David becomes King of Israel, he is lamenting the fact that the Tabernacle (or the place of worship) had been destroyed by the Babylonians, and David wants to rebuild the Temple so God can have a place to in Israel.   God tells David through the prophet Nathan that he doesn’t want David to build the Temple, but that one of his descendants will rebuild the Temple and in verses 12 and 13 of 2 Samuel 7, God says that the Kingdom of David’s descendant who would rebuild the Temple, would last forever.  Now many Supercessionists (Replacement Theologians) believe that David’s son Solomon was the realization of that prophecy because Solomon rebuilt the Temple, and they believe that the physical Church here on Earth is the continuation of that promise.  But  we also know that the Roman Empire overtook Israel and the Temple was destroyed in AD70.  The Kingdom of Israel did not last forever under Solomon’s reign, and it did not continue.  The Temple was destroyed.  So what happened?  Was God wrong when He told David that the Kingdom of David’s descendant would continue forever?  Did God REALLY mean that the Kingdom would continue forever like a transferred contract under the name of “The Church”?   I think the answer to this can be found in a statement Jesus made to His disciples in John 2:18-20.  Jesus told His disciples, as they were standing in the Temple that he would destroy this temple and raise it up in three days.  Of course everyone thought Jesus was talking about the actual building they were standing in; but we are told in verse 20 that Jesus was speaking of his own body.  This is absolutely integral to understanding what God meant in his promise to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7.  The Temple that the worship of the Church is centered around is not the physical Temple of Solomon, or the Wilderness Tabernacle, but the temple that the worship of the Church is centered around is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ!  This can only mean that Solomon’s Temple was not the fulfillment of the promise to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, but that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is the fulfillment of that promise.  What’s more, is that this is further proven by the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3.  These genealogies prove that Jesus was a descendant of David, and that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Samuel chapter 7.

So, what does all of this mean?  It means that the Supercessionists are wrong, the Church is not merely a continuation of Israel; and it also means the Premillennialists are wrong, the Church is not completely distinct from Israel.  I realize it seems that only one of those two definitions can be wrong, but let me explain.  The Apostle Paul, after having made a clear distinction between Israel and the Church asks the question in Romans 3:1-2 ; “What advantage hath then the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision?  Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God”.  The “Oracles of God” are the teachings of God, and Israel had received the teaching of God.   Evangelism today, is nothing more than being a witness of what the truth we have seen, or learned.  The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to “Go ye into all the world and TEACH all nations”.  An unbeliever cannot come to a knowledge of God without first being taught the truth by some means.  Romans 10:14 says:  ”How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”   The Oracles of God, recorded in the books of the Old Testament, were the Oracles of God that were committed to the Jews.  They had every benefit that the Church has to learn the gospel and to believe.   So did the Jews believe?  Some of them did for sure.  Most of them did not.  Most of the Jews lived in legalism striving to attain a clear conscience with God through the law, while never realizing true salvation.  Most of the Jews lived a life of vain religiousness.  They bowed when they were supposed to, they observed the feasts and the sabbaths, they sacrificed when they were told; but God was not pleased with them as is clear in Isaiah chapter 1 where God tells them He is full of their vain oblations.

The truth is;  God has always desired a type of salvation that results in a changed heart, repentance of the heart.  The prophet Jeremiah (an Old Testament Jew and prophet) said this in Jeremiah 4:4 “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart”.  Although Israel was only commanded by God to circumcise their flesh, the intended teaching was that they realize the spiritual truth behind it, which is all true believers will repent of their sins.   This of course was not a new thing that Jeremiah told Israel; in fact just before Moses died, he reminded Israel that the keeping of the law was not the end-all of the responsibility for the Jews.  Moses said in Deuteronomy 10:16 ; “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart”; meaning, repent of your sins and believe.

All of this serves to show how Israel was not necessarily God’s people spiritually, but the nation of Israel was used by God to serve as an illustration of Christianity.  Not just for our generation, but for all generations throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The nation of Israel illustrated the Church like a parable, or a visible drawing of a spiritual truth for us to compare and understand.  There are no words to appropriately describe spiritual truths, so God has always used illustrations, comparisons and parables to teach us just as Jesus did in His Earthly ministry, and that is what the nation of Israel was… a parable.

So the Church is not related to Israel by Supercessionism.  We have not replaced Israel or continued their heritage.  And the Church is not completely distinct from Israel either as the Premillennialists would claim.  The Church is the spiritual fulfillment of Israel.  The Kingdom of God has been built by a descendant of David; His name is Jesus Christ, and He has built the Temple by the resurrection of His body.   The camp of Israel was situated around the Wilderness Tabernacle which was the central focus of Jewish life in the wilderness.  The spiritual fulfillment of that illustration is that the spiritual, universal Church of Jesus Christ has the resurrection of Christ as the central focus of our attention and worship.   Those of us who are part of the Kingdom of God, are “in Christ” and in a very real, but spiritual sense we are Kings and Priests of that Kingdom as we serve in the spiritual Temple (Rev. 1:6; 20:6).   The Kingdom of God is now, and always has been, even before Christ.   There is no need to invent a future Millennial Reign where the promises made to Israel will finally be fulfilled.  If you are a Christian today, you ARE the fulfillment of the promise to Israel!

One more correlation to give you something to think about.  In Exodus chapter 15, after the crossing of the Red Sea, the Jews sang a song known as the song of Moses which praised God for His salvation and deliverance from the armies of Pharaoh.  In that song (verse 2) one line reads; “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation”.   This song is repeated in Isaiah 12:2 when Isaiah speaks of Israels deliverance from Assyria, and all God’s people with one mouth will praise God for His salvation and deliverance.  In Psalm 118:14, King David describes his personal relationship with God and reiterates that same line from the Song of Moses, which would indicate that David was a true believer, and that he recognized the spiritual application of the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt.  Then, in Revelation 15:3, John sees the saints in Heaven singing the Song of Moses; “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb”.  Notice it’s not just called the Song of Moses, but it’s also called the Song of the Lamb.  This song describes salvation in Jesus Christ, and is the response of those that have received that salvation and deliverance.

This article in no way fully details all the correlations between the Church and National Israel, and I know full well that the reading of this article will prompt many questions and will require many answers.  If you have a question or comment, feel free to ask it below as I’m sure the discussion will be a fruitful addition to this article.