Israel And The Church
Don’t make assumptions.
We can’t address the rapture without including a discussion on Israel and the Church. J. Dwight Pentecost, in his book “Things to Come, A study in Biblical Eschatology,” says this concerning the post-tribulation rapture. “(2) Consequently, the position rest on a denial of the distinction between Israel and the church” ( Page 164). I would have to disagree with that statement because it is not necessary for that to be true to have a post-tribulation understanding. Here we will look at this.
Israel and the Kingdom of God.
I know I mentioned this already in the series, but it was for a different purpose. I cannot stress this enough: a proper understanding of the Kingdom of God is essential to comprehending everything in the Bible. Anyone who limits the Kingdom of God to the Millennium Kingdom is demonstrating a lack of understanding. That is not hyperbole or an attempt to discredit anyone; it is an attempt to prompt thought.
The Kingdom of God is the complete reign of Jesus and is not limited to a location. Unless you believe I am making unfounded claims, I will rest on the authority of one of the highly regarded works on the Old Testament: Keil and Delitzsch’s Old Testament Commentary.
“Genesis commences with the creation of the world, because the heavens and the earth form the appointed sphere, so far as time and space are concerned, for the kingdom of God; because God, according to His eternal counsel, appointed the world to be the scene both for the revelation of His invisible essence, and also for the operations of His eternal love within and among His creatures; and because in the beginning He created the world to be and to become the kingdom of God. The creation of the heaven and the earth, therefore, receives as its centre, paradise; and in paradise, man, created in the image of God, is the head and crown of all created beings. The history of the world and the kingdom of God begins with him.”
The ultimate purpose of our world and existence is so that the Earth can become the Kingdom of God. Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God than about any other topic. In order for us to understand this fully, we need to back up a bit. The Kingdom was temporarily set back when Adam and Eve failed their first test. After removing them from the garden, the earth became so evil that God reset it with a flood.
After the flood, humanity gathered in one place and built a tower that defied their need for God, and it was a rebellion against His reign and Kingdom. Because our God is gracious and sovereign, He would not fail at bringing His Kingdom to completion. So the Lord called Abram to represent His Kingdom.
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 12:2–3
Over and over again, we see how Israel repeatedly fails to represent the Lord’s Kingdom. The one highlight is King David, and that is because out of all the kings, David is the only one who knows Israel is not his Kingdom but his Lord’s. Even after God sent Israel into captivity, He still promised to bring them back, and He did. The battle is over Israel being in the Land, because as long as the enemies of God can keep Jerusalem, the occupation of the Jews, the promise of the Kingdom cannot fully come.
The Church and the Kingdom of God.
The failure of humanity to be worthy citizens of the Kingdom prompted God to become incarnate to save His people. Salvation is an invitation to be part of the earth when it becomes the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! The invitation has been extended to the Gentiles so that all can be part of the promise the Lord gave to Abram. The Gentiles are allowed to enter into those promises.
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”
Romans 4:13-16
The apostle Paul uses an illustration that we need to take note of. It is that of the olive tree found in Romans 11:11-32. The Gentiles are the wild branches that get grafted into the natural olive tree. The picture is that now the Gentiles get to be partakers of the promises made to His people.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The union of the Jews and Gentiles into one Kingdom in no way does away with Israel. The church does not replace Israel, and Israel is part of the church. The church is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. The first members of the church were Jews. The church is a called-out people that get grafted into the promises made to a nation.
“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”
Romans 4:16
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”
Ephesians 2:11–14
The teaching that the church has to be removed from Israel seems to recreate a wall that the Lord had broken down.
Conclusion
We need to see that Israel is a nation made up of Jews, and it is through this nation that all the world will be blessed. The Lord will rule from Jerusalem, and He will ensure His people occupy the Land. The Gentiles get to be in on these promises, and the church, which is made of both Jew and Gentile, will be the citizens of Christ’s Kingdom.
The idea that the church needs to be separated at some point is a grotesque view of this picture because it creates an image of a tree without limbs, and the limbs without a tree. Why would the Lord break off the wild branches that have been grafted into Israel? It also recreates a wall that once existed. If the church is the citizens of the Kingdom, then we must stand with Israel, because Satan wants to prevent the Lord’s plan for His paradise to be established on the earth.
The pre-tribulation rapture must rip the church out of the picture and leave Israel to defend the land on its own. Why should the church escape and Israel have to suffer in bringing forth the Kingdom, when we are joined together? To my knowledge, there is nowhere in the bible that tells us they will be separate. The idea of that separation destroys the story that the Lord has been telling us since He created Eden.
There are dispensations found in the Bible. Paul tells us we are living in the dispensation of grace.
“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,”
Ephesians 3:2–3
However, the dispensation of the church is a manufactured dispensation to support the pre-tribulation theory work. The church is both Jew and Gentile. The Jews are chosen for a specific purpose, and that is to secure the Land for Jesus’s return. Think of a special unit of the military that is chosen to secure a stronghold for the troops and the commander to follow, and set up a base. Their comrades cannot abandon the special force.
The Lord had a plan for our Earth, and it was to make it His Kingdom with humans ruling with Him. He has never given up on that plan; it was predetermined from the foundation of the world. Because people rebelled and created a city of rebellion, Babylon the whore, God called out a man with whom He could fulfill His plan. The people in their flesh would never be able to achieve it, so Jesus came, and the resurrection is a promise to make people of faith worthy of the Kingdom. The people of faith will inherit the land, but it is the responsibility of the nation of Israel to secure the land and the promises so that the whole world will be blessed.
I would love to hear your thoughts by contacting me here.
