God’s Promise to Israel’s
God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament were conditional promises: “And if thou wilt … do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever …”
“But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments … Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people” (1 Kings 9:4-7).
God promised Israel as a nation blessings and curses depending on their obedience or disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). But because of their continued rebellion in the Old Testament, God caused them to be taken into the Babylonian captivity for seventy years. After being punished for their sins, the Lord prophesied through the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others of their return from that captivity.
But some modem commentators have made the mistake of applying the prophecies of Israel’s restoration spoken by Isaiah and Jeremiah to some future restoration of Israel. These commentators don’t realize that the restoration spoken of by the prophets has already taken place.
When Daniel prayed to God and confessed the sins of his people, God allotted a probationary period of 490 years for the Jewish people after the captivity to see if they would repent and accept the Messiah (Daniel 9:24). Sadly, the nation of Israel again rejected the Messiah and crucified Him.
In Daniel 9:24-25, the prophetic time period of 70 weeks or 70 x 7 (a day for a year, Ezekiel 4:6) began with the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem (Artaxerxes’ decree in 457 B.C., Ezra 7:11) and ended in A.D. 34.
The Lord commanded, in 34 A.D., that the gospel be preached to the Gentiles after the stoning of Stephen. This incident marked the final separation of the nation of Israel from God’s covenant. For more information: https://bibleask.org/can-you-explain-the-70-weeks-in-daniel/
Jesus warned the nation of Israel, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you (literal Israel), and given to a nation (spiritual Israel) bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43). Because Israel as a nation failed to meet the conditions of obedience, they didn’t inherit the promises of victory over all their enemies.
Today, spiritual Israel is made up of anyone that accepts the Savior whether Jew or Gentile. And spiritual Israel will, indeed, inherit the New Covenant and all of God’s promises. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Thus, God’s promises to literal Israel were transferred to spiritual Israel, which is the church or the body of Christ.
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
