Is the Israel of the NT the modern country?
Upvote:12
Not at all. Israel itself has many meanings in the OT:
- Israel = Jacob, son of Isaac
- Israel = The nation of Israel (all 12 tribes of Israel)
- Israel = The northern tribes of Israel (as opposed to Judah)
- Israel = The people of God
The most common usage in the Old Testament is that it's referring to the nation of Israel (the full nation until Northern Israel went into Exile and then Judah). But although Israel were the people of God, many of them weren't really. We see this because of their sinful rebellion and God punishes them through two exiles. Their hearts were hard and they frequently chased after foreign gods.
And yet, we do find a portion of Israel, called the remnant or True Israel, who serve God as the nation were supposed to. We see this when Elijah is hiding after having slayed the priests of Baal and God tells him that he has preserved 7000 people faithful to him (1 Kings 19:18). In fact, all through the Old Testament, the idea of the faithful remnant is present. The remnant is really what the whole nation was supposed to be (a people who loved God and devoted themselves to honouring Him).
And so we come to the new Testament. Paul gives a great teaching on this in Romans:
Romans 9:6-8 (NIV)
6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
He makes the distinction I've explained above - not all Israel are Israel, i.e. not all of the nation of Israel are God's people (see one meaning of Israel applied to the first reference and another to the second). God has always kept Himself a faithful remnant and indeed, this is how it is for us as Christians. God's People (the New Israel) who are defined as people who accept God by faith, regardless of whether they are Jew or Gentile (Romans 3:21-31).
So returning to your verse:
Romans 11:25-26a (NIV)
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved.
Christians everywhere are the new Israel, the People of God, and they comprise Jews and Gentiles. It has nothing to do with the modern country of Israel.
More post
- 📝 What is known (and/or alleged) about the moral character of the 12 disciples?
- 📝 Things that are common exclusively for Protestants and Oriental Orthodoxy
- 📝 How do Jehovah Witnesses explain differences between NWT and Hebrew/Latin/Greek in Zechariah 12:10 and Acts 20:28?
- 📝 Where does the idea that you cannot conceive of light until you see it come from?
- 📝 How was the Old Testament compiled?
- 📝 Is it a correct to say that Jesus did not entertain His family’s request in Mark 3:31-35?
- 📝 What is purpose of being ready for the End Times?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, Jesus is Jehovah in OT. Therefore do they view all the occurrences of the Tetragrammaton as referring to Jesus?
- 📝 Mormon understanding of what kind of bodies people have in heaven
- 📝 Jesus got angry in the temple - should we do that too?
- 📝 What is the history of the term "state of perfection" before, during, and after Vatican II?
- 📝 Do all Orthodox saints have their own akathist?
- 📝 How do you "Convert" somebody to Christianity?
- 📝 Do other Christian denominations/groups have an equivalent to the "burning in the bosom" of Mormonism?
- 📝 Why keep baptismal fonts full in the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 Do Jehovah's Witnesses plan a return to door to door ministry since their 2020 shutdown?
- 📝 Does the verse in Song of Solomon 5:16 contain the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad?
- 📝 If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?
- 📝 How is the election of Adam and Eve according to the Calvinist?
- 📝 How does Jesus describe God in the Gospels
- 📝 Is the philosophy of René Girard compatible with mainline Christianity?
- 📝 Rephrase: Does the Bible claim itself to be inerrant?
- 📝 Did Jesus cancel the entire old testament laws or just part of it?
- 📝 Whom do Jehovah's Witnesses serve?
- 📝 Is God still in the process of creation?
- 📝 What is the basis that some Protestants teach the non-necessity of baptism for salvation?
- 📝 How is ignoring clear Biblical instructions in Leviticus justified?
- 📝 What is the nature of eternal security?
- 📝 Are there any Christian denominations that consider LDS (Mormons) to be Christians?
- 📝 How do Protestants view the prophecy and birth of Jesus
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is the Israel of the NT the modern country?
- 📝 What is the justification for applying God's promises to Israel to modern day Christians?
- 📝 What caused the shift from "Faith Of Christ" to "Faith In Christ" in modern translations?
- 📝 Among modern critics who believe in the attributed authorship of the Gospels, what are their arguments?
- 📝 How do the Dead Sea Scrolls impact modern apologetics?
- 📝 What is the modern argument against obligatory head coverings?
- 📝 What is the modern origin of the phrase "hell is the absence of God"?
- 📝 If I am a Christian does this mean I need to support the modern state of Israel?
- 📝 Is the nation of Israel itself a type of Christ and, if so, how?
- 📝 Why is the Nation of Israel called Israel and not Abraham?
- 📝 Are there any modern churches that subscribe to the Donatist heresy?
- 📝 Are people possessed by demons today? What is the modern Christian perspective?
- 📝 How did the Crusades impact modern Christianity?
- 📝 Do modern descendants of the Levites need to be ordained with the Aaronic Priesthhood?
- 📝 How was the Bible used to reduce modern slavery?
- 📝 What are modern Christian views of the soul?
- 📝 Where in the Bible is the restoration of the nation of Israel prophesied?
- 📝 What is the basis for the idea of a seven year peace treaty with Israel in the end times?
- 📝 Why was Dan removed from the list of 12 Israel tribes in Rev 7?
- 📝 When and why did the modern literal 6-Day creation theory become popular?
- 📝 How does the trial of Jesus compare to the judicial standards of the epoch and of the modern times?
- 📝 Did the modern LDS idea of fast offerings have extra-Mormon roots?
- 📝 Is there modern evidence that the Sun stood still?
- 📝 Did Pentecostalism lead to Cessationism in the modern Reformed churches?
- 📝 Do any traditions hold that the Jews will return to Israel prior to Christ's Second Coming?
- 📝 Where did Roman Catholicism connect modern heresies with the Reformation?
- 📝 How did the Inquisition impact modern Christianity?
- 📝 Would the bible draw parallels between the spies returning from Canaan and modern biblical criticism?
- 📝 When and why did the modern Young Earth Creationism movement gain such a large following?
- 📝 How did the wise men (Magi) know the country where the new king was born?
