Throwing down the Gauntlet : Israel
I'm not going to derail that thread, so I will start another posting.
The reason why Israel (and the Middle-East) is full of strife :
Promises to Israel were conditional
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. . . . But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field." More curses are listed. (Deut. 28:1, 15, 16)
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." (Deut. 30:19, 20.)
Jesus announced the end of the the biblical mission of the Jewish nation
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house [temple] is left unto you desolate." (Matt. 23:37, 38).
"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen [gardeners], and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. . . . And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them." (Matt. 21:33-45).
Jesus also confirmed the direct fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy
"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" (Mark 13:14).
A new Israel is evident from the description in Revelation 7
"Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad. . . . Aser. . . . Nepthalim. . . . Manasses. . . . Simeon. . . . Levi. . . . Issachar. . . . Zabulon. . . . Joseph. . . . Benjamin. . . ." (Rev. 7:5-8).
Some feel that the "lost" tribes of Israel will be found. The list here shows more evidence that the end-time Israel is different. Two of the original tribes are missing. These are Dan (Gen. 49:16, 17; Judges 18:30) and Ephraim (Isa. 7:17; Hosea 5:3; 11:8). In Revelation, the two are replaced by Joseph (instead of his inheritance being divided between his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh) and Levi (Deut. 18:1).
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21).
The reformed list and twelve thousand from every tribe may be seen to symbolize the completeness and perfection of the final people of God.
"Israel" has become those who belong to Christ
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:28, 29; compare Rom. 11:26).
"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:" (Rom. 2:28)
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Originally Posted by The_Librarian
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