Wasn't the kingdom promised to Israel? Is the church the heir of Israel's promises? Is the church "Israel", as some teach? Or, has God taken His promises away from Israel and given them to the church?

Israel and the Church.

Scripture answers these questions by teaching us that the church as we know it resulted when God imparted faith to Gentiles, as He had to Jews, making them a single church, united by their love for God, their faith in the Lord Jesus, and their hope of eternal life.

In the Old Testament, God dealt almost exclusively with Israel, and true believers were found almost exclusively within Israel. The term "Israel" had a twofold meaning… (1) it could refer to the entire nation which consisted of both believers and unbelievers, or (2) it could denote the true believers within the nation. In either case, the term "Israel" referred only to those who were fleshly descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Paul uses the term "Israel" in these two ways when he says…

Romans 9:6 – ... they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;

Romans 11:1 – I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

In the book of Acts, we find a marvelous thing… the gospel was preached to Gentiles (non-Jews), and many of them believed and were saved. They were thus added to the company of believers, the spiritual seed of Abraham…

Acts 11:18 – When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."

Acts 14:27 – When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Galatians 3:6-9 – ⁶Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. ⁷Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. ⁸The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." ⁹So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Ephesians 2:11-16 – ¹¹Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. ¹⁷AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; ¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,

Romans 11:17-21 – ¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." ²⁰Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; ²¹for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

Paul continues the discussion…

Romans 11:25-29 – ²⁵For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB." ²⁷"THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." ²⁸From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; ²⁹for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 

Figure 1. The two seeds of Abraham.

This significant passage of scripture teaches us that God's promises to ethnic Israel are still valid and binding. Paul makes a clear distinction in this passage between Gentile believers (you) and ethnic Jews (Israel). He says that ethnic Jews are "beloved for the fathers' sakes", which tells us that God is concerned about the fleshly seed as well as the spiritual seed. Indeed, His promise to the fleshly seed is that He will someday save them all (i.e. all those who are living at the time)…

Zechariah 12:9-13:1 – ⁹"And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.… ¹"In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

Revelation 21:24-26 – ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; ²⁶and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;

Isaiah 60:10-12 – ¹⁰"Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. ¹¹"Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession. ¹²"For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.

Zechariah 2:10-12 – ¹⁰"Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the LORD. ¹¹"Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹²"The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

Unity and Diversity.

But how can this be? Doesn't Scripture teach that, in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile?

Galatians 3:28 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 – ⁸For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; ⁹for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 – ¹¹A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. ¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.

Ephesians 5:22-24 – ²²Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. ²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

The spiritual gifts display unity amid variety. Paul's teaching concerning the spiritual gifts describes this situation well…

1 Corinthians 12:12 – For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Differing rewards in eternity. In several places, Scripture teaches that in eternity believers will receive rewards of varying degrees. The Lord Jesus taught that some would rule over 5 cities and others over 10 cities…

Luke 19:16-19– ¹⁶"The first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.' ¹⁷"And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.' ¹⁸"The second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.' ¹⁹"And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

1 Corinthians 3:14-15– ¹⁴If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The Sheep and the Goats.

There is another passage which assures us a future distinction between Jew and Gentile…

Matthew 25:31-46 – ³¹"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³²"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' ⁴⁰"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' ⁴¹"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' ⁴⁴"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' ⁴⁵"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' ⁴⁶"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The correct interpretation is to realize that ethnic Jews are fleshly "brothers of Christ", and that Christ is here judging the nations (vs. 32). The Greek word for nations is ethnos, which can also be translated Gentiles. The sheep and the goats are Gentile "sheep" and Gentile "goats", and the "brothers" are Jewish "brothers". Now we have three distinct groups, and the sheep and goats are judged by how they treated the Jews. Is this not precisely what God promised Abraham?

Genesis 12:3 – And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

God promised the Jews that He would give them the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession...

Genesis 13:14-17 – ¹⁴The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. ¹⁶"I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷"Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you."

Such an approach is inadmissible in this passage, however. This passage is not strictly prophetic, but rather promissory or covenantal. God is here making a solemn promise to Abraham to give him a definite blessing for a specific duration of time.

In everyday affairs, men take great pains to ensure that a promise, such as a will or a contract, is written unambiguously, so that both parties fully understand what is being agreed to, and so that a third party, such as an arbiter or a court of law, may ensure that each party adheres to the terms of the agreement.

How much more would God, who abhors deceit, avoid using ambiguous or misleading language when making a solemn promise! Perhaps it is appropriate for certain prophecies to be couched in mysterious, allegorical language. But it is not appropriate here!

Various attempts have been made to discredit the literal teaching of the promise of the land. These may be classified as follows...

1. The promise is meant for the Church, not for literal Israel.
2. God really meant "heaven" when He spoke of the land.
3. "Forever" means "a long time", but not literally "forever".
4. The promise was conditioned on obedience, and Israel forfeited the land through disobedience.

Explanation 1 (that the promise is intended for the Church rather than for ethnic Israel) is the most plausible of the four, given Paul's statements in Ephesians 2:11-16 and Romans 11:17-19 concerning the grafting of the Gentiles into spiritual Israel, and in Galatians 3:7 where he teaches that Gentile believers are children of Abraham by faith.

However, as we have already seen, Scripture teaches a future distinction between Jew and Gentile, even in the eternal kingdom (Revelation 21:24-26; Isaiah 60:10-12; etc.). Moreover, in Galatians 3, when Paul tells us that Gentile believers are children of Abraham, he never once mentions the promise of the land, but speaks only of the promises of justification and of the Spirit (Galatians 3:6-9, 14)...

Galatians 3:14 – in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Explanation 2 (that the land refers to heaven) must surely be rejected on the basis that Abraham was told to look at the land, and walk through the land. Moreover, he was told to look toward the four compass directions. He was not told to look up into the sky, nor to close his eyes and imagine what heaven might be like. The land that he saw, and through which he walked was a physical land on earth. This should not trouble us, however, if we truly believe that God will someday create a New Earth, and that it will be our eternal abode.

But, surely the land which Abraham saw and walked through are part of the old creation which will be burned up. Surely also, the glory of the New Earth will far exceed that of the land which Abraham saw in his day. Also, Hebrews 11:10 says that "he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Doesn't this suggest that he did not truly regard the land he saw to be his ultimate inheritance?

The answer to these objections is a qualified "Yes". Yes, it is true that the New Earth will be far more blessed and glorious than the land which Abraham saw when God made the promise. Yes, it is true that Abraham looked to a future time when God would establish His righteous kingdom, and His glorious city, upon the earth.

But these observations only serve to reinforce, rather than deny, that God's promise to Abraham concerns a literal place on the earth. The New Earth will likely be geographically similar to the old earth, so that Abraham could return to the corresponding place where God originally made the promise. No doubt, in Abraham's time, the land was quite fertile and the climate was pleasant – more so than any other place Abraham had seen. The New Earth will be even more blessed, possessing the same blessings which Abraham observed when the land was first promised to him, but in a perfect, incorruptible and thoroughly delightful form.

Explanation 3 (that forever does not literally mean forever) must be rejected on two grounds.

First, that the word translated forever here, and everlasting in Genesis 17:8…

Genesis 17:8 – "I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Psalm 90:2 – Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Second, to claim that forever does not literally mean forever is to belittle the promise to Abraham. Imagine the eternal, omnipotent, ever-faithful God promising Abraham the land for some long, nonspecific period of time. If Abraham knew that, just as he must someday die, so also the land would someday be taken away from him and his descendants, then the promise loses much of its luster. It also raises the question, "What will become of me and my seed after we are disinherited?"

We must remember that Abraham hoped in his own resurrection, just as he trusted God to raise up Isaac…

Hebrews 11:17-19 – ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; ¹⁸it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." ¹⁹He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Explanation 4 (that Israel forfeited the land through disobedience) is the most indefensible of the four explanations. For one thing, the promise was made to Abraham, and he is held up time and again as one who was faithful. Surely, Abraham did not forfeit the land through disobedience. Indeed, after Abraham's death, God told Isaac and Jacob that He would give them the land that He gave to their father Abraham…

Genesis 28:4 – "May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham."

Genesis 35:12 – "The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you."

Ezekiel 36:16-25 – ¹⁶Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, ¹⁷"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. ¹⁸"Therefore I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹"Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰"When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.' ²¹"But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. ²²"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³"I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴"For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. ²⁵"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

1. God will bless Israel in spite of their disobedience.
2. God will bless Israel to sanctify His name before the Gentiles.
3. God will bless Israel by returning them to their land.
4. God will bless Israel by cleansing their hearts from sin.

I believe that our Lord may have had this passage in mind when, in the Lord's Prayer, He said "hallowed be Thy name". Just as God promised in Ezekiel 36 that He would hallow His name by restoring Israel to the land and cleansing her from sin, so our Lord prayed that the Father would hallow His name by causing His kingdom to come, and by ensuring that His will is done on earth as in heaven.

In any case, Israel's unfaithfulness could not have caused God to be unfaithful to His promise. One thing which is abundantly clear is that God truly promised Abraham the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and He will fulfill His promise.

Don't Confuse Israel with the Old Covenant.

The book of Hebrews teaches that the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law were symbolic and temporary in character, pointing to Christ and His work of redemption. There are many who suppose that this means that ethnic/national Israel has served her divine purpose, or that Israel was merely a type of the Church, and that now that the Church has arrived, Israel has no further place in God's plans.

However, neither Hebrews nor any other Scripture says that national Israel was a type of the Church. The Jewish ceremonies were typical of Christ's priestly work of redemption, to be sure. Also, we today are warned against turning away from God's promises, just as Israel in the Old Testament received such warnings (1 Corinthians 10:6; Hebrews 3:7-13). But nowhere is it stated or implied that Israel was a type of the Church.

We should remember that the Law was added 430 years after God made His eternal, unconditional promises to Abraham…

Galatians 3:17 – What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

Circumcision in the Early Church.

In the days of the apostles, there were certain Jews, called Judaizers, who taught the Gentiles that they must be circumcised and must keep the Mosaic Law. Paul rejected this teaching quite strongly, and it led to a church council at Jerusalem in Acts 15. The conclusion of this council was that Gentiles were under no obligation to be circumcised or keep the Law, other than to abstain from fornication, from eating blood, and from food offered to idols (Acts 15:20).

But the church made no such ruling concerning Jewish believers. Now consider this… the issue of whether Gentiles must be circumcised would never have been raised if the Jewish believers had already given up circumcising their children. The fact that a council had to be called, and that such a discussion was raised about the issue of Gentile circumcision forces us to the conclusion that the Jewish believers were faithfully practicing circumcision at the time.

Moreover, when Paul returned to Jerusalem in Acts 21, the Jewish saints were still faithfully practicing circumcision. The apostles were concerned about a rumor that had been spread about Paul, saying that he had been teaching the dispersed Jews not to circumcise their children (Acts 21:21). They reminded Paul that they had agreed that Gentile believers were exempt from circumcision, but that they had granted no such exemption to Jewish believers (Acts 21:25).

In order to disprove this rumor, Paul agreed to pay the offering expenses for some men who had taken a Nazirite vow (Acts 21:23-24). Clearly, the Jews of the Jerusalem church were still circumcising their children, and Paul did not try to persuade them otherwise. In fact, by paying the Nazirite expenses, he demonstrated that he fully approved of the Jewish Christians' continued observance of circumcision.

So what do we make of this? Circumcision was not introduced at Sinai, but was given by God to Abraham as a token of His covenant to Abraham to give him the land of Canaan…

Genesis 17:10 – "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

The early church maintained a distinction between the Jewish believers, who observed circumcision, and the Gentile believers, who were not to be circumcised. From this we may conclude that the Jews viewed themselves as heirs of the Abrahamic covenant, whereas the Gentiles were viewed as not directly participating in that covenant. In other matters, Jew and Gentile were equal in Christ… receiving the same salvation, having the same hope of the future kingdom, receiving the same Spirit, having the same Lord, etc. (Ephesians 4:4-6). But the promise of the land, and the circumcision which signified that promise, belong exclusively to the Jews.

This is further evidence that, in the kingdom, there will be certain distinctions between Jew and Gentile.