The Bible Vs. Modern Israel

Please remember: Not all Palestinians are Muslims; some are Christians. The following was written by an Evangelical Christian:

Although the modern state of Israel, having been established, has the right to exist like any other nation, Israel must also respect the Palestinians' right to their land in the West Bank. But, Israel keeps building Jewish settlements in the West Bank. That is the main reason why the majority of Palestinians continue to support the radical organization Hamas.

The only reason why Israel finally got out of Gaza was because of Hamas' successful attacks on Israeli settlements in Gaza. Otherwise Israel would have continued building settlements in Gaza indefinitely. In the West Bank, however, Israel methodically continues to confiscate Arab land to build Jewish settlements. More and more Palestinians in the West Bank lose their property and homes every year because of this.

Most Palestinians would stop supporting Hamas if only Israel completely withdrew from the West Bank as it did in Gaza. Then, perhaps, Palestinians would agree to recognize Israel. Let Israel try this and then if the majority of Palestinians still won't recognize Israel and continue to support terrorist attacks against Israel, no one will blame Israel for re-taking the land back and even annexing it.

U.N. resolutions demand Israel to withdraw completely from the West Bank. The United States made a big noise under President Bush about applying U.N. resolutions on Saddam Hussein when he was in power. Why doesn't the United States make a big noise about applying U.N. resolutions to Israel?

Unlike Hamas, the Palestinian Authority is willing to recognize Israel and work with Israel, but Israel's continued occupation of the West bank and expansion of Jewish settlements on Arab land exacerbate the situation and cause the majority of Palestinians to support Hamas instead of the Palestinian Authority.

In 1967 Israel went to war in self-defense and captured Arab land. Israel was right in defending itself. However, the issue now is no longer so much self-defense. The problem is that Israel will not pull back to its pre-1967 borders so long as many Israelis and most evangelical Christians in America continue to believe that present day Jews have a biblical right to all of Arab territory in Palestine. For this reason a biblical examination of the issue is necessary.

As an evangelical and conservative Christian, of Indian origin, I wish to set the biblical issue in proper perspective.

Although the modern state of Israel now has every right to exist as any other nation (as long as it honors the UN resolutions upholding Palestinian rights) this does not mean that Zionism (the belief that Jews have a biblical right to all of Palestine) is correct. And it is Zionism that is primarily fuelling the building and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on Arab land.

From a purely biblical perspective Zionism has enormous problems.

The fact is that almost none of the Jews in modern Israel are descendants of the original Jews of Palestine thousands of years ago. Most of the Jews in Israel today are descendants of Europeans who had converted to Judaism in the Middle Ages (known as Khazar or Ashkenazi Jews).

The last time God had promised in the scriptures to bring the Jews back to their ancestral homeland was fulfilled centuries ago when He brought them back from their Babylonian captivity. Thus, the Jews in present-day modern Israel are not a fulfillment of that ancient promise.

Furthermore, God's promises concerning the land to the Jews in the Old Testament were conditional - only so long as they continued to obey Him were those promises concerning the land binding (read Deuteronomy 28). In any case, as I have already noted, God fulfilled his promise concerning the land to the Jews centuries ago.

We read in the Book of Joshua 21:43, 45: "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." Thus, there is no promise concerning the land that still awaits any fulfillment.

Most evangelical Christians today are looking forward to the seven-year tribulation period of Israel which would require for the Jews to be in the land. But this period had already occurred in history during AD63 to AD70. (seven years) when the Roman army besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple.

It was this destruction that Jesus said would mark the end of the age (the Jewish Age, that is). During these seven years, there was a brief respite from the attacking Roman army and this respite gave an opportunity for believing Jews (Christians) of this time to escape the final destruction of Jerusalem and have their lives spared.

Most evangelical Christians, who are dispensationalists, are still seeking for an Israel that the New Testament says is the spiritual body of Christ made up of both Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ and who together (as one seed) inherit the same (not different) promises (Galatians 3:14-16).

The New Testament refers to the Christian church as the "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16). There is good reason to believe that some of the Old Testament descriptions of God's future dealings with Israel are already being fulfilled spiritually in and through the Christian church which is made up of both Jew and Gentile believers in Christ inheriting the same (not different) promises.

The problem with most evangelical Christians today is that they interpret the Book of Revelation literally. But Revelation is a book of symbolism and should not to be interpreted literally. The Book itself tells us not to interpret it literally.

In the very first verse of the very first chapter we read, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (the Father) gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John" (Revelation 1:1, KJV). The word "signified" in the passage comes from a Greek word meaning "signs" or "symbols". Thus, Revelation was meant by Christ to be interpreted symbolically, not literally.

The Book of Revelation, like the rest of the New Testament, was originally written in Greek so sometimes we must go to the Greek language to have a more precise understanding of certain words.

Many evangelical Christians believe (wrongly) that the "Great City" in the Book of Revelation, which God destroys in His wrath and which is referred to figuratively as Babylon, is Rome. They believe it is Rome because the city is described as being surrounded by seven hills.

However, Jerusalem, also, is surrounded by seven hills. The proof that Jerusalem is the city and not Rome is found in Revelation 11:8 where we read, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified".

Was the Lord crucified in Rome or in Jerusalem? The wrath of God against Jerusalem for its apostate Judaism is what the early portions of the Book of Revelation are all about.

The modern state of Israel, now that it has been established, has every right to exist, but Israel should also be made to uphold the UN resolutions concerning Palestinian inalienable rights. Unlike before, almost all Arabs, including Palestinians, now recognize Israel's right to exist or, at least, will not wage war with Israel if Israel completely withdraws to its pre-1967 borders. But, what Palestinians and other Arabs cannot live with is Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and Israel's continued building of settlements there.

Most Palestinians will stop their resistance and even go after the terrorists themselves if Israel simply gets out of their way (the West Bank) and that is the best way for Israel to stop the resistance and preserve its security and peace - not to mention the security and peace of others.

It is important, however, to have some basic background knowledge of how the modern state of Israel was founded.

As one writer points out: "Israel was created (in the beginning) not by force of arms or military invasion, but terrorist activity advocated by Jewish immigrants, in an effort to get rid of the British Administration (the lawful government of the day, as sanctioned by the predecessor to the U.N). Britain abandoned its mandate and Israel was created by the U.N."

Any solution to the present crisis must also involve monetary or financial compensation being made by Israel to Palestinian families who have had their homes and lands seized and taken away during the formation of the modern state of Israel in the 1940's. (According to the U.N. resolution 194, Palestinian refugees have the right for compensation and repatriation).

During that time Palestinian families suffered huge atrocities at the hands of Jewish immigrants, including many pregnant Palestinian Arab women having their wombs ripped open and their babies slaughtered before their very eyes. This was one of the many horrible crimes committed against Palestinians, even by such notable political figures as former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, and the Palestinians should be compensated by the modern state of Israel for these crimes. That is only right.

The terrorism committed by Jewish immigrants against Palestinian Arabs in the late 1940's is a major reason for why many Palestinian Arabs fled their homes and land and became refugees.

However, as long as most evangelical Christians in America believe modern Zionism is biblical they will continue to exert one-sided pressure in Washington DC in support of Israel's status quo in the region and prevent any pressure on Israel to pull back to its pre-1967 borders and discontinue building settlements on Arab land.

That is why it is very important to understand that there is no biblical basis for modern Zionism. If America insists Israel must be fair to Palestinians it will not only help achieve peace in the Middle East but also will reduce Muslim extremism, and even terrorism, against the United States. 

source

ATTENTION TO ALL ISRAEL-LOVING AMERICAN EVANGELICALS

Your unconditional love and support for the secular, politcal state of Israel is not mutual and must stop. They don't give a damn for the rights of Christians. They hate our Faith; they hate our Christ. This is simply one more in a long list of abuses against the Church.

Pray for Israel, but please stop supporting them as if they are actually the fulfillment of an ancient prophesy.

From uruknet.info:

Israel razes Christian ancient site in O[ccupied]. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Father Atallah Hanna, the Greek orthodox patriarchate of occupied Jerusalem, said the Israeli municipal council in the holy city demolished and obliterated Christian ancient monuments dating from the Byzantine era in Ein Kerem area.
"We strongly condemn this heinous crime committed against the Christian antiquities in Ein Kerem, which is the birthplace of Saint Youhanna Al-Meamedan (John the Baptist) and his family, and where Virgin Mary lived plenty of time," father Hanna stressed in a statement to Al-Jazeera net.

The Israeli municipal council in coordination with the authority of antiquities and the ministry of tourism is now building illegal stores on the ruins of the Christian monuments discovered in a piece of land adjacent to the spring of Virgin Mary (Mary's well).
Lawyer Qais Naser, a specialist in planning and building law, said that the Israeli ministry of tourism and the municipal council in Jerusalem refused to keep the Christian historical site and turn it into a shrine open to the public.
Naser affirmed that the Israeli excavations revealed an important Christian ancient site related to the spring of Virgin Mary, but the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) insisted on demolishing it and building stores in its place.

(pictured is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was built on the very site of Christ's resurrection)

Palestinian Christians

Israeli authorities threaten demolition of 500 church buildings in Jerusalem

From IMEMC News:

The Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Jerusalem released a statement Saturday that the Israeli authorities have threatened to force the demolition of 500 buildings owned by the churches in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have recently stepped up demolitions in the Old City of Jerusalem, in accordance with the Municipality's published E1 plan for the city, in which officials articulate a detailed plan to push out the Palestinian Christian and Muslim populations, while simultaneously increasing construction of Jewish-only homes and housing developments.

Read the rest here.

'Watch out, missionaries!'

I'm really beginning to wonder why it is that so many Christians in this country are so infatuated with Israeli Jews. Perhaps they don't realize that the affection is not mutual. By the way, isn't "Messianic Christian" redundant?

The term "bastard" is also popular with the Gur Hassidim seen in the videos, but it's usually in reference to Jesus. "They took some bastard and they believe he rose from the grave," says one haredi filmed last year taunting the Messianics who were giving away second-hand clothes outside the chess club. "Where is your bastard?" the man demands, laughing quietly.

Read the entire article here

Israel: Church Showered With Stones In North

I can't help but wonder how--or whether--American Christians, who for some reason are in love with Israeli Jews but are completely oblivious to the Ancient Church, would react if the stones were flying in the opposite direction...?

MIGDAL HA-EMEQ, Israel, June 22 (Compass Direct News) – When the congregation at St. Nicolay church in this northern Israeli town gathered on that quiet Friday morning of May 29, they never expected to be showered with stones. The Russian Orthodox worshipers, including many women, children and the elderly, had filled the small building to overflow with several outside when they were stunned by the rain of stones. Some were injured and received medical care.

The identity of the assailants is unknown...but eye-witnesses claimed they were ultra-orthodox yeshiva students who frequently cursed the church on their way to the school or synagogue.

“They often assault us verbally, curse and yell at us, although we tried to explain that this is a place of worship, a holy place,” said a frustrated [Oleg] Usenkov [press secretary for the church]...a Russian Jew who converted to Christianity after immigrating to Israel in the 1990s.

Members of the congregation, a few hundred Christians from Migdal ha-Emeq, Afula, Haifa, Nazareth and other Israeli cities still remember how their building was vandalized in June 2006. Under cover of darkness, unidentified men broke in and broke icons and modest decorations, smashed windows and stole crosses.

***

According to Israeli law, non-Jewish relatives of a Jew are also entitled to citizenship, but Jews who have converted to other faiths are denied it.

Read the rest here.

Farmers find monastery beneath Israeli soil

(CNN) -- After a group of Israeli farmers sought last year to expand their property in the hills near Jerusalem, they discovered an archeological gem beneath the dirt.

A team led by Daniel Ein Mor barely had to scratch the surface before finding the remains of a Byzantine monastery, he told CNN on Wednesday.

The church is believed to have been built in the late fifth or sixth century, and is decorated with "breathtakingly beautiful mosaics," according to a description from the Israel Antiquities Authority, which hired Mor.

Read the rest here.

Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them

From Haaretz.com

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.

The clergyman prefered not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.

On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.

Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.

"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.

Read the rest here

Just How Exactly Does One Perform a Sacrifice?

From Again and Again

The Epistle of James supplies us with further Scriptural evidence for the Jewish roots of Christian worship. For the word in James 2:2 referring to a Christian occasion or place of worship, usually translated as “assembly”, in Greek is actually “synagogue” [συναγωγὴν]. That Greek term means both Synagogue and the Synagogue-type Service of worship. James here indirectly indicates that the early Christians thought of their place of worship as a Synagogue, where they celebrated Christianized Synagogue Service of worship.

The word “Synagogue” is found forty-four times in the New Testament; but, ironically, the word Synagogue, which today we customarily associate exclusively with Judaism and the Old Testament, is not to be found anywhere in the Old Testament. For the Synagogue was a development in Judaism that postdated the writing of most of the Old Testament Scriptures.

The word “Synagogue” is from the Greek, meaning “to gather together.” The Jewish Synagogue has its origin in Babylon during the Babylonian Captivity. In 597 and again in 586 BC, the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar deported the most prominent Jews from Israel to his capital city, where they and their children remained in exile for approximately 100 years. During that time, it became customary for the Jews to gather on the Sabbath to hear the Scriptures read, to sing Psalms, and to receive instruction. This practice developed into an orderly pattern of liturgical worship. The Jews, of course, were already quite accustomed to liturgical worship in the Temple, so it was only natural for them to develop liturgical forms of worship in their Synagogue Services.

By the time of Christ, the common order of Service in the Synagogue was as follows: the Service began with several readings from the Scriptures, followed by preaching from various individuals who would be invited by the Synagogue leader to comment on the day’s readings; finally, Psalms were sung and appropriate Benedictions were recited. At the end of the service, men who were of priestly families would be invited to recite Aaron’s Blessing (Numbers 6:26).

The typical Synagogue in the first century was an open hall, with no seats for the congregation. At one end (facing Jerusalem if possible) there was a “bema” or high place, which was an elevated stage-like platform. In the center of the wall behind the bema was the seat of the ruling elder, with seats for his council on either side. In the center of the bema itself stood a table upon which sat both the “Menorah” (a seven-branched candlestick) and the Ark, a decorated cabinet containing the Scrolls of the Scriptures.

After the return from the Babylonian Captivity and the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews brought the custom of Synagogue worship to Judea. But not all the Jews returned to the Holy Land. Those who remained behind in Babylon continued to worship in their Synagogues. By the beginning of the first century, the custom of Synagogue worship had gradually spread throughout the Jewish Diaspora. Jews from all around the ancient world were able to participate in and benefit from Temple worship only if they made a pilgrimage to the Temple in the Holy City. Back home it was the Synagogue which naturally was the center of Jewish life and worship.

Temple worship centered on the offering of sacrifices. Synagogue worship centered on reading, preaching the Word, singing the Psalms, and the offering of Benedictions. Worship, both in the Temple and in the Synagogues, was understood to be fundamentally an act of praise to God, and focused only secondarily on seeking His blessings. The emphasis, in other words, was on giving, not receiving. The benefits one derived from both Temple and Synagogue worship were the by-product of one’s participation in the acts of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to the God of Israel.

The only detailed instructions in the Bible for Services of worship are the elaborate rules for the sacrificial rites set forth in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. But even there, we find no directions on how exactly to offer a sacrifice. Some contemporary traditionalist Jews, dreaming of restoring Temple worship, have found this fact truly a stumbling block. For if they were to reconstuct the Temple, how exactly would a sacrifice be performed? No one today knows.

Since we find no reference to the Synagogue in the Old Testament, obviously neither will we find any directions in the Old Testament on how to conduct a Synagogue Service. The manner of conducting worship in the Synagogue, like the instructions for offering sacrifice, was a part of Jewish tradition found outside of Scriptures. According to the Scriptural record, neither Jesus nor the Apostles had the slightest difficulty with this fact, for, as we have seen, they all participated in Synagogue worship on a regular basis. They had no reason even to expect the Bible to provide directions on how to conduct Synagogue worship.

We do have a very good idea today of how a Synagogue Service was done two thousand years ago, simply because the Jews have been conducting Synagogue worship all along, without break, even to this present time. Modern Jewish Synagogue worship, as well as Jewish home worship, is part of a living tradition. On the other hand, however, we do not know today the finer details of the sacrificial worship of the Temple, since the Jews were forced in AD 70 to cease offering the liturgical sacrifices ordered by the Law of Moses. In that year, the Imperial Legions of the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the last Temple of the Jews.

The Nation of Israel in Prophecy

The Nation of Israel in Prophecy, by Fr. Peter Gillquist (emphases added)

"When the Lord was coming to His voluntary Passion, He said to the disciples on the way: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered as it was written of Him. Wherefore, let us, O brethren, accompany Him with spotless consciences and be crucified with Him, and with Him kill the pleasures of life, that we may live with Him, hear Him say: I am not ascending to the earthly Jerusalem to suffer, but to My Father and your Father, to My God, and your God, that I may draw you with Me to the Jerusalem above in the Kingdom of Heaven."
-Matins of Holy Monday

Many Orthodox Christians, especially those with roots in the Middle East, are bewildered by the degree of enthusiasm with which many American evangelicals support the modern state of Israel. In addition to reasons rooted in contemporary geopolitics, evangelical support for Israel is also based on a particular modern theological view of the Second Coining of Jesus Christ. It is this aspect of the evangelical perspective that I want to explore in this short booklet.

ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES
As revealed in the New Testament, Christians have always believed that Christ could come again at any time, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52). Saint Paul cried out, "O Lord, come!" (1 Corinthians 16:22). Saint John in Revelation quotes our Lord Jesus Christ as saying, "Surely I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:20). The Nicene Creed teaches concerning the Second Coming of Christ, "And He will come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom shall have no end."

But in the mid-nineteenth century, through the teaching of a little-known former Anglican clergyman named J. N. Darby, a modern alteration of the historic Orthodox understanding of the return of Christ began to form.

First, Darby taught as dogma that when the Scriptures reveal the Lord will reign for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4), this figure is to be taken literally, rather than as a symbol of eternity. Many modern Christians see the choice between the literal and symbolic views as a toss-up. But the Church-wide Council of Ephesus in AD 431 condemned the literal view as heresy. The council forbade it to be taught in the churches!

Next, the Darbyites came to believe in two comings of Christ. The first would be a "secret" coming, only for Christians, preceding a period of tribulation; the other would be a visible coming of Christ before the thousand-year reign begins. This view, often called the "rapture theory," is virtually unknown in Church history before Darby.

Ultimately, Darby's followers came to believe that before the secret coming of the Lord occurs, before the "rapture," the remnant people of Israel must return to the Holy Land. A huge number of today's evangelical and charismatic Protestant Christians have bought into this innovative speculation.

So, unlike the vast ranks of true Christians throughout history, modern evangelicals have come to embrace the view that today's Israel has a "manifest destiny" to the land of Palestine. They believe when the Old Testament teaches that Abraham's descendants will inherit the land, it refers to the modern political state of Israel. In contrast, Saint Paul, himself a Jew, teaches, "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). To be a descendant of Abraham today means you must belong to Christ our God.

Many evangelicals teach that May 24, 1948, the day Israel became a state, was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Passages such as Ezekiel 36:24 are cited: "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land." Evangelicals believe this refers to the end-time regathering of Israel. The Church, however, has traditionally understood Ezekiel's prophecy as referring to Israel's return home after the Babylonian captivity in 539 BC.

I spent the first half of my adult life in the evangelical movement. It was there I committed my life to Jesus Christ, and for that I am eternally grateful. It was there that I found I could trust the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was in my study of church history with fellow evangelicals that I and a host of others became Orthodox. So today, when Orthodox believers ask for help in explaining to evangelical Protestants how we Orthodox Christians see modern Israel in light of the Scriptures, I see some crucial points that must be made. Let me mention three.

1. The Old Covenant is over.
The covenant God made with Abraham blessed him and his descendants with the land of Canaan and set them apart as the people of God. This covenant was called "everlasting" because it would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who reigns forever. The Book of Hebrews calls the old covenant "a shadow of the good things to come" (Hebrews 10:1), for it was a preparation for the new covenant inaugurated by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In order for the new covenant--which offers salvation to all, Jew and Gentile alike--to take effect, the promises of the old covenant had to be fulfilled. This was done in Christ. Thus, we read that God "has made the first [covenant] obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13). Interestingly, the Book of Hebrews was written about AD 70. That same year the temple in Jerusalem, a last visible sign of the old covenant, was destroyed. Now, the people of God have in view the heavenly Jerusalem, the City of God, as reflected in the Holy Week hymn at the beginning of this booklet.

Let me offer an illustration to give us a better understanding of this transition of covenants. Some years back, Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, decided to move his football team to Baltimore. Cleveland struck a deal allowing the city to retain ownership of the name "Browns." They planned on another Browns team playing in their stadium. So Modell called his team the Baltimore Ravens. And today, the new Cleveland Browns are also in place.

Let's say that several centuries pass. The Browns are still playing in Cleveland. But some of Art Modell's descendants have come back to town, and they decide to lay claim to the whole operation. "We were here for years," they announce to the fans. "It's our team, we're the originals, and we're taking over." There'd be one giant ruckus in Cleveland! Heck, even the Pittsburgh fans would come to their aid! Orthodox Christians know that if Israel wants to form a secular state and regroup as a people, they certainly can do so. But they cannot claim to be there by divine intent. Why? Because in rejecting Jesus Christ as God and Messiah, the nation "gave up the franchise" as the people of God. There is no divine mandate justifying Israel's claims over Palestine. Or, as His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP says, "God is not in the real estate business."

The Apostle John wrote concerning Christ and the Jews, "He came to His own [Israel], and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him [Jew and Gentile alike], to them He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:11, 12).

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus "took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'" (Matthew 26:27,28). The old covenant is complete. It is fulfilled. The new has come, and it is everlasting.

2. The Church is the people of God
The prophet Isaiah, who wrote in about 700 BC, records God the Father speaking of His Son: "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, / My Elect One in whom My soul delights! / I have put My Spirit upon Him; / He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:1). Long before the Son of God came to us in human flesh, the Jews were told by God through their own prophets that salvation would no longer be only for Israel. The Gentiles, too, would receive His justice.
And then the Father gives His Son a remarkable promise. "I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, / And will hold Your hand; / I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, / As a light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6). Jesus Christ Himself would be a "covenant" and a "light" to Gentile believers. It is apparent the beloved Simeon had Isaiah's prophecy in mind when he held the infant Christ in his arms and acclaimed Him as "a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, / And the glory of Your people Israel" (Luke 2:32).

Saint Peter, writing to the early Christians, acknowledges that his kinsmen who disbelieve in Christ have become disobedient to God. But in the Church, to Jew and Gentile alike, he brings great encouragement:

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10).

It doesn't get any clearer than this. St. Peter, in this passage, calls the Church a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and the people of God. These are terms from the Old Testament used to describe ancient Israel. Does this mean God sees the Church as a new Israel? Saint Paul answers that question as he concludes his letter to the Galatians:

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:15,16).

Why would the Apostle Paul call a Gentile church in Asia Minor "the Israel of God"? The answer comes earlier in his letter to the Galatians, when he discusses what it takes to be a true child of Abraham.

"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham'' (Galatians 3:7-9).

Remarkable! Through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we in the Church have become children of Abraham, grafted into Israel, and we have received the blessings that God promised to Abraham. Israel is no longer those who live in a certain geographical place; it is not an ethnicity, it is not a political state. The true Israel continues on through history serving the King of kings, the resurrected and reigning Christ, as the Church. Instead of the earthly Jerusalem, the people of God seek the Jerusalem above.

3. Jesus told us this would happen!
I know people don't like long biblical quotes in brief essays like this. But I am asking that you read this passage carefully, because in it Jesus Christ goes on public record that the heritage of the old covenant Israel would be handed over to those who by faith embrace Him as the Son of God.

"'There was a certain landowner [God the Father] who planted a vineyard [Israel] and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers [the Jews] and went into a far country.
"Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants [the prophets] to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
"Then last of all he sent his son [Jesus Christ] to them, saying, "They will respect my son."
But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance." So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?'
"They said to Him, 'He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.'
"Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected / Has become the chief cornerstone. / This was the Lord's doing, / And it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be aken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it' " (Matthew 21:33-43).

So often in the New Testament, when the Lord spoke a parable, the chief priests and Pharisees just didn't get it. But that's not the case here. Saint Matthew goes on to tell us, "Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them" (Matthew 21:45). Not only is this passage clear to the Christian Church, it was clear to the leaders of Israel. The Kingdom of God would be taken from Israel and given to a new nation, the Church of the living God. So the Scriptures make the case. The old covenant has been fulfilled; the new has come. It is the Church that is the people of God, the heirs of the promises made to Abraham, and the true Israel. And Jesus said it so clearly that even those who did not want to hear it understood.

For the Bible-believing evangelical, the Scriptures have spoken. Any claim that the modern state of Israel is somehow a fulfillment of God's prophetic timetable simply is not valid. The Kingdom of God is in the hands of others.

OUR MERCIFUL GOD
But there's one last thing. It is not an accident of history that after two thousand years, the Jews still exist as a people. And while most Jewish people have rejected Christ as God and Messiah, the Lord has not rejected them.

His Grace, Bishop KALLISTOS (Ware), in commenting on Saint Paul's letter to the Romans, says, "The Apostle refuses to regard this act of rejection on the Jewish side as something final. With far-reaching, unquenchable hope he looks beyond the present situation to the time when, so he is convinced, the whole of Israel will finally turn to Christ."

As Orthodox Christians, we must say with the Apostle Paul, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).

Being a Christian is being a martyr. One glorious day, all this conflict will be settled. God will wipe away every tear. There will be no more crying, no more pain. For now, it is with great tribulation that we enter the Kingdom of God. In the midst of our trouble, the Lord is still on His throne. And so we cry, "Blessed is our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen."

For a thorough explanation of how the Orthodox Church views this and other related issues, read A Second Look at the Second Coming by T. L. Frazier, available from Conciliar Press.
Conciliar Press
P.O. Box 76
Ben Lomond, CA 95005-0076
(800) 967-7377 or (831) 336-5118

Who is the New Israel

The following is an excerpt from the article "Who Is The New Israel," by John W. Morris, Ph.D (all emphases are my own)

The Rev. Jerry Fallwell, a leading Fundamentalist, once wrote: “If this nation wants her fields to remain white with grain, her scientific achievements to remain notable, and her freedom to remain intact, America must continue to stand with Israel” (Listen America; New York, 1980, p. 98).

A Chart For All Seasons
Fallwell and the others who demand unconditional support for Israel consider the modern Jewish State a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. They are heavily influenced by dispensationalism, a method of Bible interpretation which became popular through the writings of John Nelson Darby (died 1882). Darby, a one time cleric of the Church of England, joined the Plymouth Brethren in 1831 and developed a complicated system of Biblical interpretation that divides God’s saving action into individual eras or dispensations. This scheme influenced thousands of American Protestants through the Niagara Bible Conference of 1895 and the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield the next year.

Dispensationalism makes a strong distinction between the promises made to the Jews before Christ and the reality of the Church after Pentecost. Thus dispensationalists teach that God’s promises to the Jews were not fulfilled through the Church but remained unfulfilled during the Church age. They consider the Church a new and separate creation by God with its own separate agenda, not the heir to the promises made by God to ancient Israel. Therefore, it is natural that the dispensationalists should see the founding of the modern state of Israel as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

Not My Type
Dispensationalists interpret the words, phrases, and sentences of the Bible in a very literalistic manner. Thus they reject or fail to see the importance of an ancient and almost universal principle of Biblical interpretation known as typology. Typology is the method of Biblical understanding which seeks the spiritual meaning of the historical events described in the Old Testament.

Fundamental to the typological method of Biblical interpretation as practiced by the early and later Fathers is the belief that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment and completion of the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. For example, the near sacrifice of Isaac points towards the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The ark that saved Noah and his family from the Flood is a type of the Church which saves the faithful from sin and death. The burning bush is seen as a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who bore God in the flesh, yet was not consumed by the presence of the divinity within her womb.

The typological method is not just the invention of the Fathers, but is based firmly on the New Testament. Our Lord Himself used the example of Jonah as a type of the three days that He would spend in the tomb (Matthew 12:40). He also compared the lifting up of the serpent by Moses to his own ascent of the cross (John 3:14). Saint Paul considered the passing through the Red Sea as a type for baptism (I Corinthians10:1-2). Saint Peter even uses the term “antitype” to compare the ark with baptism (I Peter 3:20-21). Thus the typological method of interpretation is firmly grounded in the Holy Scriptures.

Typology And The New Israel
According to the typological method, God’s promises to Abraham and his descendents were fulfilled through Christ and His Church. One Orthodox scholar has written: “In Christ, then, the covenant with Israel was fulfilled, transformed, and transcended. After the coming of the Messiah—the Incarnation of God the Son—only those who are ‘built into Christ’ are counted among the people of God. In Christ, the old Israel is superseded by the Christian Church, the new Israel, the body of Christ; the old covenant is completed in the new covenant in and through Jesus Christ” (George Cronk, The Message of the Bible; St. Vladimir SeminaryPress; 1982, p. 80).

This interpretation of the covenant with Abraham and his descendents as fulfilled through Christ and His Church is firmly grounded in the witness of the New Testament. In the parable of the Vineyard Owner, our Lord uses the unfaithful tenants of a vineyard to illustrate this point. The owner, representing God, sent his servants, representing the prophets, and finally his son and heir, representing Christ, to collect his rent. The tenants, who represent the Jews, ignored the request for the rent and killed both the servants and the son of the owner of the vineyard. At the end of the parable our Lord said, “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:1-9). In other words, those who faithfully believe in Him will inherit the status that Israel had before it rejected the Messiah.

Saint Paul wrote, “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham . . . if you are Christ’s then you are of Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:7-9). Indeed, Saint Paul called the body of believers “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). Saint Peter illustrated this point by applying terms used to describe Israel in the Old Testament when he wrote, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (I Peter 2:9).

Thus, according to the New Testament, the standard against which all doctrine and Biblical interpretations must be tested, God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendents has been fulfilled through Christ and His followers, not through a secular state, for Christ said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

It is true that there are some Old Testament prophecies that speak of a restoration of Israel following the destruction of Israel by Assyria and of Judah by Babylon. For example, Isaiah wrote, “It shall come to pass that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left” (Isaiah 11:11). Jeremiah prophesied, “For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:15). Micah said, “I will surely gather the remnant of Israel” (Micah 12:12).

Indeed, God did restore Israel. The book of Ezra tells how Cyrus, the King of Persia who had conquered Babylon, allowed the Jews to return from exile and to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Significantly the beginning of Ezra states that the events recorded are in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah (Ezra 1:1). Thus the Old Testament prophecies cited in support of the modern state of Israel were fulfilled long ago when the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity.

Sons Of Abraham
The time has come for Christians to carefully reevaluate an attitude towards modern Israel which is based on faulty premises. Both Church history and the Holy Scriptures teach clearly that Christ and His Church are the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Saint Paul tells us that those who follow Christ in faith are the true children of Abraham and heirs to the promises made by God to the Old Testament patriarch. The prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel have already been fulfilled and should not be applied carte-blanche to the modern state of Israel.

The Zionist State was born in conflict between the claims of Jews to a homeland and the rights of the native Palestinian inhabitants of the Holy Land. Christians should, therefore, judge Israel on the same basis as other nations, and not accord to the Jewish State a special status above reproach. Indeed, it is clear that while both sides have committed atrocities, the Zionists have disregarded the rights of the Palestinian people to national self-determination. Christians owe no special allegiance to Israel, but should expect the Jewish State to adhere to the same principles of justice and decency demanded of other nations. Indeed, Christians should call the people of Israel to recognize the legitimate right of all people to the same national self determination that they claim for themselves.

Read the rest here