When Jesus Christ lived in this world, He was not well received by the nation of Israel as a whole (John 1:11). The nation’s political leadership and theocratic establishment rejected Him. Many of the common people accepted Him, but the majority did not. Jesus’ teachings so differed from the beliefs of the Jewish leaders that they viewed Him as a threat to their religion and believed he would lead the people astray to destruction. In fact, the high priest Caiaphas used this very argument when the religious leaders met to decide what to do about Jesus after He had resurrected Lazarus from the dead (John 11:49–52). Their conclusion was that He must die.
Jesus spoke love, mercy, and forgiveness to those who were sincere. However, to the leaders of Israel, who were calloused and self-righteous, He spoke very frankly about their condition. The Jewish leaders persisted in their rejection of Christ and His teachings until finally, He told them, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43).*
The nation to whom the “kingdom of God” would be given is the church. In the New Testament, spiritual Israel—true followers of Christ, making up His church—is shown to be the true Israel.
Christ grieved deeply over Israel’s rejection of Him. He had been the leader of Israel since the call of Abraham. He is the great “I am” (John 8:58) who led Israel out of Egypt in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). As He looked over Jerusalem with sorrow in His heart, Christ spoke these words: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chicks under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37, 38). In rejecting Christ and His teachings, Israel chose its fate. It was left “desolate,” God-forsaken, and Spiritless.
As a nation, Israel’s probation ended with the stoning of Stephen in AD 34 (see Daniel 9:24–27). Those who rejected Jesus still carried the name Israelite. However, they were that in name only. They did not have the experience of their ancestor Jacob, who had been renamed “Israel” because of his experience with God. They did not know the true God even though they professed to know and follow Him.
Once the literal nation of Israel rejected Jesus, the Bible prophecies could no longer center on it because all prophecies are Christ-centered. This transition was spoken of by Paul and Barnabas in their discourse to the Jewish leaders: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46).
the New Testament church inherits the Old Testament’s Israel identity
Because of this transition from the nation of Israel to spiritual Israel—the church—the New Testament writers speak of the church using terms that were originally applied to the literal nation of Israel. For example, Paul wrote to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28, 29).
Here, Paul plainly states that in God’s view, there is no longer a distinction between ethnic Jew and non-Jew. The believer in Christ is the true seed, or descendant, of Abraham. Blood lineage is meaningless. He adds that believers in Christ are also heirs, or inheritors, of the promise made to literal Israel. The Christian church, spiritual Israel, has inherited the promises, the covenants, and the prophecies originally given to literal Israel. Trying to apply Old Testament prophecies to the modern-day state of Israel directly contradicts Paul’s point.
God’s new covenant to save His people is made not with the nation of Israel that He led “out of the land of Egypt” but with the new “house of Israel” (Hebrews 8:9, 10). Every Christian can claim salvation through the new covenant. If so, they can consider themselves to be a part of “the house of Israel”—spiritual Israel. In the New Testament context, everyone, Jews and Gentiles, must become part of spiritual Israel, the church, in order to be saved.
Paul taught the concept that the church is now God’s true Israel. He called the Galatian Christians the “children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7) and “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). In another place, he pointed out that being a true Jew and true circumcision are matters of the heart and not of the flesh (Romans 2:28, 29). Our faith relationship with God is what determines whether we are truly His people. Blood lineage to Abraham means nothing; therefore, the follower of Christ is the true “Jew” in God’s sight.
Peter, too, is plain about who the true Israelite is in the New Testament. In his first general letter to the church, he used the terms chosen generation, royal priesthood, and peculiarpeople (1 Peter 2:9, 10) to refer to the Christians to whom he wrote. Those descriptions are taken from the Old Testament (Exodus 19:5, 6) and were originally applied to literal Israel. All New Testament writers followed the same principle. James even applied the term “twelve tribes” to the church in his letter to the believers (James 1:1).
The New Testament teaching is unmistakable; the church is God’s Israel today. The nation of Israel forfeited its right, as a nation, to God’s promises, covenants, and prophecies when it rejected Christ. Aware of this, New Testament writers again and again apply Jewish/Israelite terminology to Christ’s church. This is a very Christ-centered application of Scripture. Applying these terms to literal Israel today is unbiblical and a Christ-less application.
The disciples applied the prophecies given to Israel to God’s work in growing the church. In the meeting in Jerusalem to determine what to do about the Gentiles who were becoming Christians, James quoted Amos 9:11, 12 regarding what was happening. He saw the church fulfilling Amos’s prophecy. He considered the growth of the church the same as building the “tabernacle of David” (Acts 15:13–18). In the minds of the disciples, they and their fellow Gentile believers were Israel—the “tabernacle of David.”
Israel, the olive tree
In Romans 11, Paul uses the symbols of a cultivated olive tree to represent Israel and a wild olive tree to represent the Gentiles. Many modern Christians use Romans 11 to support the view that modern-day, geopolitical Israel will someday be saved as a nation. However, if we look closely at the text and follow the symbolism, no such teaching is found. The point of the symbolism is to support the premise that all who are part of the cultivated olive tree, Israel, will be saved (verse 26). The cultivated olive tree represents God’s faithful of all ages. Anyone who is part of the cultivated olive tree but falls into unbelief will be “broken off” (verses 20–22). This happened to the majority of literal Israel at the time of Christ and the apostles.
However, according to verse 23, if those who are Israelites by race choose to believe in Christ, they will be grafted into the cultivated olive tree just as are the believing Gentiles. Remember, all the original disciples were literal, blood lineage Jews. But, whether Jew or Gentile, only those who have the spiritual experience with God that Jacob had are counted by God as Israelites and are considered part of the cultivated olive tree. In short, Paul’s teaching was this:
The cultivated olive tree represents true Israel, God’s saved people of all generations, in both the Old and New Testaments.
All those who are part of the cultivated olive tree and fall into unbelief will be broken off.
All who believe in Christ will be grafted into the cultivated tree, whether Jew or Gentile.
All who are part of this cultivated olive tree will be saved.
The tragedy, according to Paul, is that spiritual blindness has come into a major portion of literal Israel. This blindness will continue throughout the church age “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (verse 25), which concludes with Christ’s second coming. Paul did not say that the literal nation of Israel would someday miraculously accept Christ. In fact, his words say the very opposite—this national blindness will continue until the very end of time, even though individual Jews who accept Christ will be saved.
Old Testament prophecy fulfilled to the church
The principle that God’s church is now the Israel of God is very important. Once this is understood, it becomes clear that all the Old Testament prophecies not fulfilled to literal Israel prior to its rejection of Christ will be fulfilled to spiritual Israel—the church.
The Bible makes it clear that God is building His kingdom in hearts, not on the temple mount in Jerusalem. “Chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4, 5, NIV).
Dennis Smith is a pastor, author, and devoted student of Bible prophecy.
* Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations are from the King James Version.
