The following is an extreme summary of the teaching of Scripture regarding the role of Israel and end times (“eschatology”). A few working definitions are in order, however.
• Israel means the twelve biological tribes who were sons of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
• The church means the group of people, men and women, of all nations (including Israel) who believe that Jesus Christ is the OT Messiah, the Son of God.
• Jews means those who are biologically confined to the nation of Israel.
• Eschatology means a study of the events revealed in the Bible that explain the events of the end of time.
• Epistemology means the study of the basis of knowledge itself. This is oftentimes referred to as “paradigm.”
It is vital that we have these definitions, epistemology, in play as we work through the answer to the above question.
Epistemology
First of all, the nation of Israel began when God called to a man in the southern Iraqi town of Ur to leave Ur and travel to the Syrian town of Haran. That man’s name was Terah. His son, Abram, was given a vision by Yahweh to leave Ur and travel to the land of Canaan (Acts 7:2; cf. Genesis 15:7). Terah died in Haran. Abraham left Haran when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4) and finally arrived in Canaan. From biblical sources, we know that Abraham was born in 2166 B.C. While in Canaan, God appeared to Abraham a few times in order to reiterate, and confirm the promise that He gave him while in Ur. That promise is summarized in Genesis 12:1-3.
Genesis 12:1–3 (LSB)
1 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, And from your kin And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
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.”
This promise, confirmed by a unilateral (one-sided) covenant recorded in Genesis 15:1-21, forms the four elements that are the basis for all of eschatology. Firstly, Abraham will become a magnificent nation. That is, from Abraham, who had only one son, Isaac by Sarah his wife, would come so many people that they would biologically be called a “nation.” Secondly, God will bless that nation. Thirdly, that name of Abraham, attached to that nation, will become great in the earth. Fourthly, that nation, subsequently, will become a blessing to the other nations of the earth (Paul calls this the “gospel” in Galatians 3:8). These promises were repeated only through Isaac, the son of Abraham, and Jacob, the grandson of Abraham.
I said that this is the basis of all eschatology because these promises are repeated in the Scripture as the “hope of Israel” (Acts 26:6-7). This “hope” is squarely attached to the Messiah, the Savior promised to the nation of Israel alone (Acts 13:30; cf. Genesis 22:17). That Savior, of course, is Jesus of Nazareth. The promise of the Savior was realized when Jesus Christ appeared in His incarnation and ministry. He was crucified by Israel, at the legal hands of the world power at the time, Rome (Acts 2:23; 3:13). When Israel hated and crucified the Son of God, an act which was predetermined by the Father (Acts 2;23; cf. Psalm 2:6), they set themselves up for the supreme acts of justice by Yahweh, acts of judgment that have and will come upon that nation, specifically that particular “generation” to which the Savior was presented and from which the decision to reject and crucify was made.
These judgments were part of the covenant that the nation of Israel agreed to with Yahweh through Moses (Exodus 20; cf. Exodus 24). These judgements are based upon the covenantal judgments that Yahweh promised in a series of four groups of sevens which, I am convinced, is the basis for the seven-year period of the Tribulation (“Jacob’s distress,” Jeremiah 30:7). Daniel prophesied of that time in a series of weeks (groups of seven periods of time, which, when the words are taken as they are written, refer to seven periods of seven years). All those weeks have been accounted for, except one period of seven years, one “week” (Daniel 9:26). That is the time frame for the Tribulation (Revelation 6-19).
However, if Israel should keep the covenant, all the blessings of Abraham will come to them. This is the period of time which will last 1,000 years as the earthly promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is brought into history and completed. The basis for this understanding is a passage of Scripture which is largely overlooked, but is one of the most significant passages which teach us the correct orientation of proper eschatology.
Leviticus 26:40–42 (LSB)
40 ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also how they walked in hostility against Me—
41 I also was walking in hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make up for their iniquity,
42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.
In short, Yahweh said that if Israel repents, confessing their sins, which include the horrific sin of the crucifixion of the Son of God (Zechariah 12:10), then, at that time of their repentance, all the promise of Abraham, which was a reiteration of the promise of the Father to the Son in eternity before creation (See Psalm 2:7-8), will happen in real time. Israel, then, is the only nation with which God is working through eschatologically. The entire world depends upon what Yahweh is doing with Israel.
When will they repent so that “times of refreshing” (Acts 3:18-21) can come, the times of the Millennial kingdom? They will repent when once the covenantal judgments upon the twelve tribes has been exhausted. In short, that time will come at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 19:11ff). When Jesus appears in the sky on His white horse, and the church saints with Him on their white horses (I believe they are literal horses), then the whole world will see Him (Revelation 19:11,14). But, especially Israel will see Him. He will enter from the East, from the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:1ff), and will enter the corrupted city of Jerusalem, cast out the Antichrist, the Beast, and his false prophet, and He will “restore all things” as promised to the sons of Abraham. There will be a feast, a celebration, welcoming all nations which enter into the Millennial reign of Christ, nations which He has separated between the elect and non-elect (see Luke 13:28-29). That kingdom will be the kingdom which was promised to the Son and all who believe in Him like Abraham did, as I mentioned above, from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). All of history is funneling towards that Day when the Son receives His kingdom, the kingdom what was promised to Him through His “father” Abraham (Galatians 3:16-18; Romans 4:13).
The Condensed Version
1) The snatching of the church must occur before the Tribulation (1 Corinthians 15:23-24).
2) The Tribulation will occur for seven years, as per the covenant made with Israel (Leviticus 26:14-46).
3) Jesus will come at the end of the Tribulation in order to take over corrupted Jerusalem, the Harlot Headquarters of the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20-21; see also Revelation 11:8 and 17:18).
4) Jesus will reign on the earth for 1,000 years as per the promise to Abraham by Yahweh (Revelation 20:1-6).
5) Satan, who had been incarcerated in the Abyss during the time of the Millennium, will be released and he will attempt a coup…again (Revelation 20:7-10).
6) The created earth and heavens from Genesis 1-2 will be destroyed since the eternal plan of God has been completed. The Son has received His possession and the nations (Psalm 2:6-8).
7) The New Heavens and Earth will be instantaneously created with New Jerusalem coming from heaven, as per the promise to the Son (Psalm 2:6).
And, according to Paul, the nation of Israel was the stewards of the Law, the Temple, the glory, the covenants, and the city of Jerusalem, etc… (Romans 9:4). But, most importantly, they were the appointed nation through which would come the Son of God into His inheritance (Romans 9:5)! Their rejection since 30 AD until the Second Coming of the Messiah is a consequence of their actions towards the Messiah. However, that does not mean that God will not complete His plan. He will. He has to.
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