A Richer Walk

Genetic Israel

God designated the sons of Jacob as the people of Israel. These are the 12 tribes descending from the 12 sons of Jacob [Dt 7.6; 1Ch 16.13; Isa 41.8-9; Rom 9.6-12]. They are the source of Written Word, the Scriptures [Rom 3.2; 9.4-5], and the Living Word, Jesus Christ [Matt 1.1; Jn 4.22; Gal 3.16]. The children of Israel, via their covenants, are the center [Isaiah 60.1-4; 21] of the coming earthly Kingdom [Isa 11.1-11; 60; Rev 20.1-6] and the instrumentality by which blessing is bestowed upon the world in that kingdom [Ps 87.4-6; Isa 2.2-4].

Romans 9:4–5 (KJV 1900)
⁴ Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; ⁵ Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

The Palestinian Covenant: A Land

Genesis 12.7; 13.14-17; 15:18-21; 17.7-8; 26.3-4; etc.

Genesis 15:18–21 (KJV 1900)
¹⁸ In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: ¹⁹ The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ²⁰ And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ²¹ And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

From a human perspective, several problems arise from this promise. For example, the land identified above today includes all or part of countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. Furthermore, the land is promised by God himself to Abraham and his seed. Who are the seed of Abraham? Yet another problem is when and how is this land to be inherited by those to whom it is promised.

True Israel Revisited

True Israel is the seed mentioned In Genesis 15.18. It is both natural and spiritual. It is a product of Jacob and of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

1 Chronicles 16:13 (KJV 1900)
¹³ O ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Galatians 3:16 (KJV 1900)
¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

As I noted in Part 1, the Seed has a genetic and a spiritual element. Both conditions must exist for the inheritance to be distributed.

Descent from Abraham is not sufficient, the people in view are descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, renamed Israel by God. Genetic descent from Jacob alone is not sufficient, the people in view, the seed, must be regenerated, that is born again via faith in the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.[1]

The Gentiles

Everyone not descended from the twelve sons of Jacob is a Gentile. However, the fact that the seed consists of the children of Jacob does not mean that there will be no Gentiles in the future earthly kingdom of Israel, but that the Gentile heirs will inherit through redeemed Israel.

All those not descended from the twelve sons of Israel are considered Gentiles in the Scriptures. Gentiles of the Old Testament era could join the covenant community of Israel by faith in the God of Israel and obedience to the Law of Moses [Ex 12.43-49; Dt 29.10-13; 31.10-13; Ruth 1.4,16-17]. They did not cease to be Gentiles but were sharers in the benefits of the covenants promised to Israel through their faith and participants in the life of Israel through their conformity to the Mosaic Law.

This reference to the Old Testament era is very significant. Shortly after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the Mosaic era[2] ended and the Church Age[3] began. The Mosaic era was based upon the Law of Moses, which we will discuss later. The Church Age was based upon the promise of Christ that He would call out a company of believers who would be spiritually one with Himself, irrespective of genetic factors such as ethnicity or political factors such as nationality.

The Church

Since the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ from the dead, every believer in Jesus Christ, regardless of their genetic background [Jew or Gentile],  becomes a member of the Body of Christ [Rom 12.5; 1Cor 12.12-13, 27], the Church, and is not an heir to the eternal, earthly promises made to Israel [Rom 10.12-13; Eph 2.11-19; Gal 3.28; Col 3.11]. The Mosaic Law and therefore Judaism was broken by Israel and later abolished by God [Rom 10.4; Eph 2.14-16]. The Body [Bride] of Christ has an eternal, heaven-based inheritance [1 Th 4.13-18; 2 Cor 11.2; Col 1.3-5; 1 Pet 1.3-5; and Eph 5.22-33 cf. Rev 19.7-9; 21.9 sq.].

There is no other path to forgiveness of sin and eternal life outside of faith in the blood of Christ. There is no separate Jewish path to eternal life. Jewish ancestry, even from Jacob, is insufficient, in itself, to save from eternal separation from God in Hell.

Acts 4:10–12 (KJV 1900)
¹⁰ Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. ¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Therefore, the land of Israel is not promised to those of Jewish descent who were born after the end of the Mosaic Covenant, after the creation of the Church. Descendants of Jacob who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ become part of the Church, the Body of Christ which has a separate heavenly inheritance distinct from the earthly inheritance of those under the Mosaic Law. After the resurrection of the Church, God will resume his dealings with Israel and fulfill their covenants. [4]

Thus, the people currently fighting to obtain the Land of Israel must be evaluated based upon the following biblical criteria:

1. The true heirs of the land will be believers in Jesus Christ, who proved himself to be the Messiah of Israel.  
2. Even if these individuals are believers in Jesus Christ, today they are heirs of a different inheritance than the Old Testament Jews, they would be heirs of the inheritance of the Church, the Body of Christ.
3. If they are not descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, then they are Gentiles and cannot use the assertion of genetics to justify taking the land for themselves.
4. The Bible teaches that true Israel will not receive the land by their own actions but by the sovereign action of Jesus Christ at his second coming.

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[1] This Messiah was revealed to be Jesus in the Gospels, who was proved by his genealogy [Matt 1; Lk 3.23-38], by the fulfillment of prophecy [Lk 4.14-21 and many others], by his sinless life [Jn 6.45-46], his miracles, wonders and signs, his outright claims to which the Jews attested and for which he was crucified [ Mk 14.61-63 also Jn 5.18; 10.33; Php 2.6] culminating in his resurrection from the dead [1Cor 15.1-8].

[2] Mosaic Era: including the Old Testament and Gospels  

[3] Church Age: including most of the Book of Acts plus the Epistles

[4] After the resurrection of the Church, also known as the Rapture, there will be a brief period known as the Tribulation or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble [Daniel 12.1; Jer 30.7; Matt 24.21-22], a time when the wrath of God is poured out upon apostate Israel and the entire world. It is a part of the much longer period known as the Day of the Lord. [Amos 5.18; 2 Pet 3.10]. During this time God will resume his direct dealings with Israel, first in judgment and later in blessing. During this time Gentile access to the kingdom covenants will resume, through Israel.