Israel is the apple of God’s eye. This was true during the days of David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. It’s also true now, but of whom exactly is it true?
Two Passages Where God Said Israel Was the Apple of His Eye
Zechariah 2:8 is a well-known verse, often quoted by Christian Zionists with reference to modern Israel (as does this Christian ministry), and typically as a way of saying that Christians are bound to stand in loyalty to the nation of Israel:
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.‘“
Looking back at the history of ancient Israel, God did indeed refer to this nation as the apple of His eye:
“Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you: When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:7-10).
Of course, Deuteronomy 32 is overall a lament concerning Israel, where God
[1] speaks of “their end” in the days of “a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith” (verses 5, 20, 28-29; see also Matthew 17:17 and Philippians 2:14-15)
[2] denies that many within Israel are even His children (“They are not His children…“; verse 5)
[3] goes on to prophesy of a time when Gentiles would rejoice with His people over the avenging of the blood of God’s servants (verse 43; see also Matthew 23:35-36; Revelation 16:3-6, 17:1-6, 18:20-24).
Other Passages Where This Phrase Is Used
The phrase “apple of my eye” is used in two other passages. David asks God to keep him as the apple of His eye, and Solomon advises his readers to value his instructions as much as they value their own eyeballs:
“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17:8).
“Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye” (Proverbs 7:2).
Which Israel Is the Apple of God’s Eye?
From Deuteronomy 32 and Zechariah 2 it’s clear that God does have an apple of His eye. Is modern, national Israel the apple of God’s eye, as many say? If so, does this include even the Arab citizens of Israel, as well as expatriates living there? If so, who was the apple of God’s eye between 70 AD and 1948 when there was no nation of Israel?
Israel is indeed the apple of God’s eye. The apple of God’s eye is Jesus, true Israel, and His followers, the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16).
When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God shouted from the heavens how He felt about His Son:
“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased‘” (Matthew 3:17).
When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain toward the end of His ministry, God proclaimed the same words over His Son (Matthew 17:5). Throughout the New Testament we see similar testimony indicating that Jesus is the apple of God’s eye, even if this phrase isn’t used there. For a deeper study of how Jesus is Israel, see this post (“Why I Stand With Israel”), which shows how Matthew, Luke, and John are among the New Testament authors who demonstrate that what was said of ancient Israel in the Old Testament is now said of Jesus, our Savior.
The Church of Jesus Christ is also the Israel of God, His beloved, the apple of His eye. This is because we abide in Christ, the apple of God’s eye. Of Jesus it is said that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). We who belong to Jesus are “a new creation” (II Corinthians 5:17), “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10), and “a holy temple in the Lord…a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22; compare with Deuteronomy 32:7-10 quoted above). We are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10), and we are God’s chosen people (Ephesians 1:11-12, Colossians 3:12-13, I Peter 2:9-10).
When Saul persecuted God’s people, Jesus’ followers, He took it personally: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?…I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:4-5). When the beast made “war with the saints” for 42 months (Revelation 13:5-7), God saw it as making “war with the Lamb” (Revelation 17:12-14).
The Context of Zechariah 2
Who did God ultimately see as Zion when He called the “daughter of Zion” (Zech. 2:10) “the apple of His eye” (verse 8)? Was this prophecy simply about national Israel or all Jewish people? God spoke through Zechariah at a time when the people of Judah and Israel had been “spread…abroad like the four winds of heaven” (Zech. 1:19-21, 2:6), but God was calling them to escape from Babylon (2:7). He would shake His hand against the nations that plundered them and touched the apple of His eye (2:8-9). Zechariah prophesied of a time when God would come and dwell in the midst of Zion (verse 10). This was not to be a mono-ethnic or single-nation reality:
“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem” (Zech. 2:11-12).
The identity of Zion and the identity of Israel was destined to expand to include people from all nations. This has already been accomplished in Christ, and the church was born in Jerusalem as Jews were added to the church daily (Acts 2:47) and a short while later non-Jews began to flow in as well (Acts 11:18). God again chose Jerusalem, but His chosen Jerusalem is the heavenly one, not the one 43 miles from Tel Aviv (Galatians 4:21-31).
However, Zion would not include the corrupt and perverse, disobedient people who God didn’t even regard as His children. This was true even in Moses’ day, as we saw earlier (Deuteronomy 32:5). Most importantly, God’s people, Zion, would not include those who would not hear His Son, Jesus, for they would be cut off:
“For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people‘” (Acts 3:22-23).
A study of the Old Testament reveals that Jews were cut off from among God’s people for quite a number of reasons (e.g. Exodus 31:14, 32:33; Leviticus 7:20-21, 27; 17:4, 9-10, 14; 18:29; 19:8; 20:3, 5-6, 17-18; 22:3, 23:29; Numbers 9:13, 15:30, 19:13; Deuteronomy 29:19). The ultimate reason for being cut off from among God’s people, from Zion, is being separated from Jesus. Today, the Christian Zionist movement doesn’t see the slightest reason for a single ethnic Jew to be outside of God’s people, not even if they are Atheists or they mock Jesus Christ. They are all God’s chosen people, and they are all the apple of God’s eye, if Christian Zionism is to be believed.
Any teaching that uses Zechariah 2:8 to say that the apple of God’s eye is limited to the Jewish people, or limited to people living within the borders of ancient Israel, or that it includes people who reject Jesus Christ, is off-base. The apple of God’s eye is first Jesus, and by extension those who belong to Him (Galatians 3:16, 29). If you belong to Jesus, rejoice that you are the apple of God’s eye.
I hope you will enjoy this song by the worship artist, Jason Upton, which rejoices in this truth. This song is called “One Reason,” from his 2001 album, Faith:
(Alternate link #1, alternate link #2, lyrics)
Pursuing Truth 
You sure had me going there for a moment Adam? 😉 However, in the end, you came across with flying truths! Every example you used to show that Jesus and His true followers are the apple of God’s eye. Some, most or all of the Scriptures you have used, are also the ones I’ve used for my project which is still ongoing. You have done an extraordinary job of putting this all together to show the world the truth of God’s Word! I am very excited about what you have presented. It is very enlightening to see that there are indeed others who know the truth! That is why we must continue on bringing the truth to the world, so that hopefully they won’t become deceived and fall prey to any smooth talking person that is bringing false doctrine!
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Thanks, aagrove9, and I’m glad this post is a blessing to you. It also sounds like your project is going to be packed with some great material when it’s all done.
I have to admit that I chose the title to this post quite deliberately. It’s perfectly fine with me if a Christian Zionist comes across it and thinks that it’s about national Israel being the apple of God’s eye, only to find out that I’m talking about Jesus and His church. Here’s a list of other posts with similar content that may not be what people expect, based on the titles:
1. http://kloposmasm.com/2013/02/13/why-i-abandoned-replacement-theology/
2. http://kloposmasm.com/2014/03/29/why-i-embrace-christian-zionism/
3. http://kloposmasm.com/2014/04/01/why-i-believe-jews-are-gods-chosen-people/
4. http://kloposmasm.com/2014/04/03/why-i-stand-with-israel/
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Sneaky.
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By the way, a great song too!
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This may be my favorite song by Jason Upton, but for sure it’s in my top five. That album, Faith (2001), is excellent.
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Great song and an excellent post Adam! I must say it is evident the Holy Spirit has been opening your spirit to receive some very VERY important truths of late brother! The previous one on the Scepter and now this! And we are blessed to have you share them here with us. PRAISE GOD
If our fellow brethren who believe otherwise (those which attribute so much which is written about Israel to the nation) to the real Israel instead, the confusion which surrounds so many doctrines would evaporate! As you wrote:
“The apple of God’s eye is first Jesus, and by extension those who belong to Him (Galatians 3:16, 29)
Amen!
By the way, i read the article at the “Christian Ministry” you linked to. If I correctly understood this, the author made a very startling statement; didn’t know if you caught it:
quote:
“Jesus furthermore stated that this apostate condition would remain until He comes back out of heaven to establish the Messianic Kingdom on Earth. There is, however, a “catch twenty two” provisional or conditional clause for Him to return. Israel must have a genuine repentant heart; they must be ready to embrace Him”
Is the author stating that Jesus CANNOT return “until” the nation of Israel has “a genuine repentant heart” …?
Am i reading this correctly?
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that is the way I see too! You can’t have it both ways? Either Israel is still God’s people or they are not! One or the other, but not both? Hopefully the other is, they are no longer valid as God’s chosen anymore, they lost that privilege once they rejected Jesus and Jesus dying and three days later, being resurrected by God the Father! Wow!
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Thank you, PJ. I’m glad you like that song and appreciate this post. There’s a lot of truth to be seen when comparing Scripture with Scripture.
Here’s something to think about: Many of us were exposed for a long time to the Dispensationalist way of thinking which says that the authors of the Old Testament had no foreknowledge of/foresight into this present age, and that their prophecies allegedly bypassed this age in order to speak of a future Millennium age when the new covenant would “finally” be established with the house of Israel, etc.
Knowing now that this premise is untrue, how much treasure is there among the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and the other Old Testament prophets concerning this present age which we have yet to really explore under a covenant-fulfilled mindset? Does that make sense? In other words, those of us who were once trained to think dispensationally likely failed to see new covenant truths when reading Isaiah, Zechariah, etc. in the past. Now that we’ve cast off dispensationalist thinking, or at least are in the process of doing so, a fresh reading and study of their writings can unearth a great deal of rich truths which are confirmed and further developed in the New Testament.
Yes, I believe you read that author correctly concerning his “catch twenty two” idea.
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So right you are Adam. Your mindset changes everything.
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Amen, yes i would indeed refer to it as treasure.
This past year i have read a couple books written by Eastern Orthodox scholars and as you know, they place Jesus at the center of the entire bible. Some of the posts you have recently put up have reminded me of the teachings found in these works. Ten years ago i don’t believe i could have grasped either what i found in these books, or this post (or the earlier one concerning the Scepter) for i was so deeply into dispensationalism. So yes, i agree with you, re-reading the scriptures (and especially the old testament) now through a non-dispensational lens is like reading them for the first time! I find myself having to pause often–im so overwhelmed with joy at what i now see. LOL
In all seriousness, i praise God for the Holy Spirit who removed the blinders i once wore Adam. Seeing (or i should say, beginning to see) Jesus and the Church more clearly now through-out God’s Word, has even caused me to feel closer to those within the early Church…if you know what i mean.
Yes, that “catch twenty-two idea, was a new one for me. I had never read that some believed National Israel’s actions determined “when” Jesus would return. As im fond of saying over at my blog about such ideas: Horse-Feathers! 🙂
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[…] *Also, I encourage you to read Adam’s newest post at Pursuing Truth: “Why I Believe Israel Is the Apple of God’s Eye” […]
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Awesome post.
“Israel is indeed the apple of God’s eye. The apple of God’s eye is Jesus, true Israel, and His followers, the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). ”
I too found myself saying AMEN to this simple line. It says it all.
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Very much a twisting of the word of God I perceive! Not here to debate but just wondering if you have read Romans 11
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Yes, I’ve read Romans 11. I don’t mind if you debate. Please explain how the word of God has been twisted in this post. From your comment, I can’t tell what you object to and what your own viewpoint is.
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I think it’s quite convenient for you to quote quite rightly Old Testament Scriptures that speak of the Jewish people not being able to inherit all of God’s promises until they come to faith yet you fail to quote the vast array of Old Testament prophecies that speak of the future restoration of Israel when they accept Him. One example is Jeremiah 31:10- ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him.’ You would rightly accept that God scattered Israel across the earth in the dispersion as a result of their rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus yet you won’t accept the fact that God will one day ‘gather him.’ I’m not saying that this is being fulfilled with the modern state of Israel but I see an inconsistency. You will take the first part of this prophecy literally, which is correct but then you will allegorically do away with the second part of this prophecy and say it’s somehow being allegorically fulfilled in the Church. It makes a whole lot more sense to say God scattered Israel across the world literally and He will one day literally gather him.
One more example would be Jeremiah 32:36-37, verse 36 says that Jerusalem was given into the hands of the Babylonians. This happened literally yet verse 37 says ‘I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety.’ This is not referring to the gathering back from Babylon after the Babylonian Captivity because it speaks of ‘all the lands,’ this is speaking again of the worldwide dispersion in AD 70 yet so again you will accept verse 36 literally but then will not take verse 37 to mean what it says.
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Hey Tim, I know your comment was not directed at me but I’m just wondering. Do you believe that you have citizenship in Israel, though you are not a direct descendant of Jacob?
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Hi Vincent, Thanks for the question, I wasn’t directing my comment at you. As a Gentile believer in the Lord Jesus I don’t believe I’m a spiritual Israelite and there is no Scriptural basis to support this despite the usual quotations of the son of Abraham verses in Galatians and also the circumcised of heart passage in Romans 2:28-29. The position that I have in Christ is as a citizen of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12) because the work of the cross has brought me near to partake of those spiritual promises in the Jewish covenants (Rom. 9:4). I am a British citizen but an Australian citizen wouldn’t say he’s British yet he can say he’s part of the commonwealth of Britain if you get me. God bless
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That’s interesting. You say there is no scriptural basis, and then you proceed to list the scriptural basis.
Anyway, I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “commonwealth of Israel”, in which you say you have citizenship. How is this different from the Israel to which the promises were made?
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I said those are the Scriptures that supersessionists always quote yet they don’t say what supersessionists want them to say. In Galatians 3 as a believer I am a spiritual son of Abraham but that does not make me a spiritual Israelite because for example the Arab people are also descended from Abraham. Jewish identity is not derived from Abraham alone but from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If Paul had said ‘son of Jacob’ then one would have a point but no such Scripture exists.
With regards to the commonwealth of Israel, if you’re saying I’m a citizen of Israel why didn’t just Paul say you were once ‘excluded from Israel,’ but he doesn’t he say that as he says the ‘commonwealth of Israel’ and as I said before an Australian is part of the British commonwealth but that doesn’t make him a British citizen. I’m not a ‘spiritual Jew,’ rather spiritual Jews are those Jews who believe in Jesus and a spiritual Gentile are those Gentile who believe in Jesus.
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The KJV uses the word Commonwealth, but not all translations do. The Greek word used in that verse is politeia which is defined as follows:
Short Definition: citizen body, citizenship
Definition: (a) commonwealth, polity; citizen body, (b) (the Roman) citizenship, citizen-rights, franchise.
So, I could argue, as have translators of different versions of the Bible, that he did in fact say “you were once excluded from citizenship in Israel”.
What I don’t understand is that you seem to have accepted one half of the equation, which is that you are a spiritual son of Abraham through Christ, but you reject the second half of the equation, which is that the promises were made to Christ, not to physical Israel (Galatians 3:16). One half does not make sense without the other.
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The key word is spiritual, the whole context of Galatians is justification by faith and those promises Paul is speaking of is with regards to salvation that are fulfilled in Jesus. Paul is dealing with spiritual matters regarding salvation. There is no denial of the OT physical promises with regards to the future restoration of Israel. If you say what you’re saying then much of the OT prophecies such as Jer. 31:10 and 32:37 don’t make sense.
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So you think Galatians 3:16 only applies to promises regarding salvation?
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Yes, the context of the passage is that Paul is saying that salvation is not obtained by works of the law but by the promise of faith, which is through Jesus. The whole context of the passage is justification.
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Interesting. Thanks for engaging and clarifying your position.
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Hi Tim. Thanks for your comment. I do accept the fact that God promised to literally regather the people of Israel from their dispersion, and He fulfilled that promise. I disagree with you that Jeremiah spoke of the “dispersion in 70 AD” in Jeremiah 32. He was speaking of Babylon and the Chaldeans in verse 28 all the way through the end of the chapter. Note Jeremiah’s mention of the Chaldeans again in verse 43. At no point did he jump forward 600 + years, let alone 2600 years.
Why do you say that Jeremiah’s reference to “all the lands” (or “countries”) in verse 37 can not be “referring to the gathering back from Babylon after the Babylonian Captivity”? Babylon was an empire, not just one nation. The Babylonian empire was made up of many nations. Then in Daniel’s day, in 539 BC, Medo-Persia conquered Babylon. Medo-Persia was also an empire made up of many nations. When Cyrus of Persia decreed that the Jews could return to Israel, they (some of them anyway) traveled from various nations within the empire back to Israel. Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled literally. The gathering was literal.
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Many thanks for the reply on this. I disagree with your interpretation of this being the restoration back to the land after the Babylonian Captivity. This is because verse 38 of Jeremiah 32 says “they shall be My people and I will be their God”, and then verse 39 says He will give them a heart to serve Him. This certainly was not fulfilled in the return from Babylon because they continued to rebel, the text then says He will faithfully plant them in the land, their return only lasted over 500 years so that partial restoration after the Babylonian Captivity doesn’t meet what the text of verses 37-44 demand.
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In Jeremiah 31 he spoke of bringing the people of Judah back from their captivity (e.g. verse 23). Then “after those days” (verse 33), said Jeremiah, God would make a new covenant with the house of Judah and the house of Israel. A couple years ago I wrote a post titled, “God’s Promise of a New Covenant to the House of Israel.” Here’s the outline and the link to that post:
1. God promised, through Jeremiah, that He would make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and that He would be their God and they would be His people.
2. In the New Testament, the church is called “the household of faith” and “the household of God”, which is no longer alienated from the commonwealth of Israel or separated from “the covenants of promise.”
3. In the Old Testament, God repeatedly said that He had chosen Israel, Jerusalem, and the temple as His dwelling place.
4. In the New Testament, John says Jerusalem has become a dwelling place for demons.
5. In the New Testament, God declares that the bride of Christ and “the holy city, New Jerusalem” has become His dwelling place, and that He is their God and they are His people.
6. In the New Testament, the household of God is said to be built on the foundation of the apostles, who are known as “ministers of the new covenant.” Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s new house.
Source: https://kloposmasm.com/2014/04/08/gods-promise-of-a-new-covenant-to-the-house-of-israel/
Israel, the Israel of God, includes people from all nations, but only those who are in Christ. Israel is both wide (all nations) and narrow (limited to those who are in Christ) in those ways.
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God did indeed make the New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, this is a covenant made with the Jewish people and it still belongs to them as Romans 9:4 clearly teaches with those privileges being in the present tense. That is a big leap to say that Israel in Jeremiah 31 suddenly becomes the church. In the historical grammatical context of Jeremiah 31 God makes that covenant with the Jewish people and this covenant will replace the Mosaic Covenant as verse 32 says and I’m sure you agree the Mosaic Covenant was not made with the Church.
The way that I see the Church’s place in the New Covenant is as fellow partakers of those spiritual promises, Ephesians 3:6 says we have become ‘fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’ Romans 11:17 says ‘you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and become partaker with them.’ Romans 15:27 says ‘for if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.’ We partake or share of but we don’t take-over so we partake of the spiritual blessings in Christ in the New Covenant, none of this means that the physical promises made to Israel in the OT are no longer valid.
You say the Church is the Israel of God? That is quite a statement to make that I don’t see any Scriptural basis for. Does that mean when you read the word Israel in the Bible you identify that to be the Church? For example, when Romans 11:25 says that a ‘partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.’ Does this mean a partial hardening has happened to the Church? When God says bad things about Israel in the OT I’m sure you won’t take them but when God says good things about Israel in the OT you will take them. I don’t see your definition of Israel in Scripture.
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Read Galatians 6. For the Israel of God reference. The destruction of the Jewish temple is the end of the old covenant world and all things made with hands, all types and shadows have ended. The nature of Israel is now spiritual. The restoration of Israel (Acts 1) finds its fulfillment in the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15. David’s fallen tent is restored through the inclusion of the Gentiles. Entering the New Covenant is accomplished by having a personal relationship with the New Covenant mediator Jesus Christ. The word Church means assembly, the title given to Israel in the wilderness under Moses. This means that the church is to be continually on the move as it fulfills the great commission. Your error is in making a sharp distinction between Israel and the church which has been pointed out to dispensational interpreters for years.
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Galatians 6:16 does not teach that the Church is Israel. There are clearly two groups in that verse, there are the ‘them’ and the ‘Israel of God.’ If Paul wanted to say the Church was the Israel of God why did he insert the ‘kai,’ if it would read ‘peace and mercy be upon them, the Israel of God,’ then you would have a point but he doesn’t say that, he says ‘peace and mercy be upon the them, AND upon the Israel of God.’ There are clearly two groups being referenced here, the ‘them’ are the Gentiles who believe and the Israel of God are the Jews who believe who are united in Messiah.
You speak of the old covenant, what is your definition of that? If you mean it’s the Old Testament then you are mistaken because Hebrews 8 clearly teaches the old covenant is the Mosaic Covenant, which we are no longer under and this is the covenant that the New Covenant has replaced.
You say you believe the church was in the Old Testament? Jesus spoke of the Church being in the future in Matthew 16:18 as He says on this rock I will build my Church, using the future tense. The Church began in Acts 2, and Paul says the uniting of Jew and Gentile into the body of Christ was a Biblical mystery unknown in the OT now revealed in the NT- Eph. 3:5- “which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.” If you say the Church has always been Israel, as I said above when you read Israel in the Old Testament do you also take the curses given to Israel in Deut 28 and Lev 26 or do you just take the blessings given to Israel in the OT?
You say it’s wrong to make any distinctions, Romans 1:16 says the gospel is to the Jew first, and then also to the Greek, isn’t Paul making a distinction in this verse in the area of evangelism?
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The NT interprets the OT. The old covenant has been fulfilled, the physical types and shadows are gone. Your teaching what Paul rejects so strongly in his epistles. Paul says that he is preaching nothing but the hope of Israel in Acts. In Christ there is neither Jew or Gentile–That’s Paul’s vision statement. The creation of one new man in Christ. You are arguing old dispensational ideas. Gal. 3-4 destroys dispensational argumentation. Daniel 12:7 says that old covenant prophecy is fulfilled when the power of the holy people is broken. All old covenant prophecy is fulfilled by 70 AD—when their power (their covenant with God) was broken.
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What is the old covenant you refer to? The new covenant is in the OT so is that also just a shadow? The old covenant is not the Old Testament, it is the Mosaic Covenant. You’re saying everything in the OT is just a type, so when one reads Zech. 14 I should not take that to mean what it says as it’s all been done away with by the First Coming yet a Scripture like Zech. 9:9 was quite obviously fulfilled literally. Amillennialism results in inconsistent exegesis and much of OT prophecy just becomes completely utterly meaningless, and I can make it mean anything I want.
I don’t see how my argument that God will be faithful to His promises to the Jewish people for His own glory is ‘completely destroyed’ by Gal. 3-4 which is arguing for justification by faith by grace alone, which is the same for all whether Jew or Gentile, male or female etc.
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Tim, our point, (Preterist) is that the new covenant includes Gentiles as well as Jews. I am not an Amillennialist. The current nation of Israel established in 1948 is not the Isreal of the Bible. That world ended in 70AD. Revelation calls that Israel the synagogue of Satan, Babylon, and the Great Harlot. We are now living in the New heavens and New earth, the new covenant, the kingdom of God. And yes the church is also the Israel of God of Galatians 6. Jesus is seated on his throne in heaven and rules, Hebrews says he is also our great high priest who has entered the true tabernacle made without hands. Jesus executed God’s covenant law suit against old covenant Israel and predicted its end in Mt 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Preterists believe that God has been faithful to all of his promises—that is why our position is that of fulfilled eschatology. The idea that there will be a future temple in Jerusalem and a return to old shadows is repugnant to any Christian.
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If we would just stop trying to make Scripture Fit our own prejudices and our own theology, then we would get the correct Scriptural view of the relationship between God and Israel. He’s NOT DONE with Israel yet. When have the Jews mourned and wept bitterly for The Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know what they think of The Lord Jesus Christ now? It’s too blasphemous to even put into words, do your own search online. This surely hasn’t happened yet, but will happen at The Second Advent Of The Lord Jesus Christ To Deliver the small remnant of Israel from The Antichrist. Below is Zechariah 12:6-14.
6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Almighty God Is A Faithful God, and even if Israel goes full-blown apostate, God Will Still Keep His Promises to Abraham and David. Go read The Book Of Hosea. Israel is a whore In God’s Eyes but He Will Still Redeem her, as undeserving as she is (not that we are any more deserving of God’s Grace than Israel is).
And you “so-called” Greek and Hebrew “scholars”, stop trying to run to the Greek and Hebrew to duck and to twist Scriptures, to your own destruction. You may sound “oh so intelligent and scholarly” to the naive and unlearned, but you’re not impressing nor fooling God. Take this as a kind warning from a brother who will also stand before The Lord, as will you, to give an account for every work done in the body (as well as every word spoken or typed), whether good or bad.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
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Dickens, I fully agree that God is not done with Israel yet, and I believe He never will be. This is because there never ceased to be an Israel of God, even when the nation of Israel was destroyed in 70 AD. The Israel of God is Jesus and His followers, and outside of Jesus there is no Israel of God.
The Jews wept and mourned during the Jewish-Roman War (66 – 73 AD) when Jesus came in judgment and in His kingdom.
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The remnant of Israel was already saved in Paul’s time. Romans 11:5 “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” That “remnant” was all that remained of the Jewish Israel of God, as the rest of the Jews were cast out for their unbelief. This is a reference not to our future, but to the past, as Paul’s language clearly indicates.
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Hi Adam,
I wrote to you back in April above and this discussion now will be the last time that I write on this blog. I don’t think it’s about winning an argument but I really feel a burden from the Lord that I need to ask you a question on, and I say this is all love and sincerity.
My question is do you believe that our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ in His present session who is at this very moment sat at the right hand of God the Father daily interceding for us, is Jewish?
God bless
Tim
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Hi Tim. Yes, I remember your comments from a few months ago. To answer your question, even though I recognize that Jesus was Jewish in His incarnation, I do not presently think of Jesus as Jewish. If I did, I would be regarding Him according to the flesh. About 25 years after Jesus’ ascension, the apostle Paul said he determined not to regard anyone according to the flesh, not even Jesus (note especially verse 16):
Do you regard Jesus as Jewish today? If so, in light of this passage, why do you believe that is appropriate or what God would want you to do? I know you said that was the last time you’d write on this blog, but please still feel free to answer. God bless you too.
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Hi Adam,
Many thanks for the reply and that is indeed a wonderful Scripture to quote. I believe the Apostle is saying that before he was saved he saw Christ merely as just another man, and that’s why he had such a hatred for the Way (Acts 9:2) because why kick up such a fuss about merely a man. But of course Jesus is not just another man, He is the Creator and God of this Universe who humbled Himself to become a man at the Incarnation and die for the sins of this world. Paul says in that verse “yet now we know Him in this way no longer,” meaning that after he was saved he realised that Jesus isn’t just any man but He is unique, He is the God-Man.
I do regard Jesus to be my sympathetic Jewish High Priest interceding daily for me. The basis is Psalm 110:1, the LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My righthand until I make your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Here God the Father is viewed as speaking to the Messianic Son. After God the Son took on human form at the Incarnation, and after His death, resurrection and ascension He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. Before the Incarnation He left heaven in the form of God, but He returned to heaven having two natures: divine and human. He is now the God-Man who is in heaven and thus is now fulfilling this prophecy. He is God but as to His humanity He is still Jewish at this very moment in heaven.
I realise from previous discussions that a common argument that has been used with discussions with others is that Ps. 110:1 is the OT. However, this argument is not valid and the reason I say that is because this OT Scripture is used many many times in the NT with one example being Matt. 22:42-45. In that passage Jesus asks whose son was the Messiah to be? They correctly answered “David’s.” Then Jesus says “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord.’ The Pharisees couldn’t answer this question. The answer though lies in the God man concept so as to His humanity, Jesus is David’s son but as to His deity Jesus is David’s Lord.
Furthermore in addition to the OT predictions there are the Messiah’s own predictions that He would be seated at the right hand of God the Father (Matt. 26:64, Luke 22:69).
The NT records the fulfilment of Ps. 110:1 in passages with a couple of examples being Acts 2:33-36 and Romans 8:34.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is sat at the right hand of God the Father as our sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 4:15). My question to you would be if Jesus is no longer a man how can He be sympathetic in the present to me as a man?
I am absolutely willing to further engage with you on this subject, please look at these Scriptures. On my previous message I meant that this would be our last discussion together so after this I won’t be posting again. I’m from the UK so am going to be bed now but will absolutely be willing to talk tomorrow.
God bless,
Tim
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How can Jesus be a jew if Paul said “there is neither Jew nor Gentile”.
Galatians 3
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So if we, on earth, are not grouped or labeled as Jew or Gentile, why would Jesus be? And since we are all one in Christ Jesus, then whatever Jesus is, so are we.
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Hi Adam,
I was thinking about this again in the night and just wanted to speak with you one more time. I think it’s so interesting that you quoted from II Corinthians because there were a couple of Scriptures before you wrote that which I was thinking of from II Corinthians.
In II Corinthians 3:15-16 Paul says that to a unbelieving Jew a veil lies over their eyes as to who Jesus is, which is their Messiah. When I have read the many articles on this blog I have discerned a similar veil and to me it’s a thick dark veil, which you probably don’t realise is here but that veil is theological anti-Semitism. Today the my Saviour is still Jewish and always will be, and I do know that Lord Jesus is deeply grieved about this theological anti-Semitism.
Satan is a very clever being who should not be underestimated. Paul says that one of Satan’s forms in which he appears is by disguising himself as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14). Today one of the ways he appears as an angel of light is that he has instigated a counterfeit program implementing a work of deception, which deceives so many. Obviously the nature of a counterfeit is to look like the genuine.
If I have a genuine $10 note and a counterfeit $10 you won’t be able to tell the difference upon mere appearance, rather there needs to be careful study of the note that will reveal it’s counterfeit. I’ve actually read of how the FBI when they train personnel they don’t begin by looking at the counterfeit but they carefully study the genuine, then every now and again a counterfeit note will be slipped in and they are able to notice it because they know the genuine. The same is true spiritually. The believer’s responsibility first and foremost today is to study the written Word of God because it’s only by that that we can then recognise counterfeits.
One more Scripture is II Corinthians 11:4, which reads, “for if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a another spirit which you have not received, or a another gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” Lets carefully look at this verse, Paul labels three things by the word another, there is another Jesus, another spirit and another gospel. In Greek there are two words for another, the first means ‘another of the same kind’ while the second means ‘another of a different kind.’ These two different Greek words are used in this verse so if I was to write this literally it would read as follows, “for if one comes and preaches another Jesus [of the same kind] whom we have not preached, or you receive another spirit [of a different kind] which you have not received, or a another gospel [of a different kind] which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” Notice that the counterfeit Jesus propagated is another of the same kind, in other words this Jesus seems very, very much like the Jesus of the NT but actually he is a counterfeit Jesus.
This leads me to my final point because just how far this counterfeit program can go is given in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Look at what the Lord says these people can accomplish, they prophesy, cast out demons, do many miracles but these outward manifestations prove nothing because Satan can duplicate them. These signs/wonders are not the acid test. Rather we have to ask is what I am doing and teaching in conformity with the written Word of God. This is serious stuff.
In closing I just want I am so deeply concerned for you Adam, and I say this in all love, when I stand before my Maker all I want to hear are the words ‘well done good and faithful servant.’ However, I am deeply concerned that when you stand before Jesus He will say to you ‘depart from me, I never knew you.’
This is my final post on this blog. However, if you feel convicted about this and want to talk further please feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook and we’ll talk further. https://www.facebook.com/tim.wood.9619
Tim
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Hi Adam,
Just a couple of more Scriptures I’ve found is I Tim. 2:5 that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Also regarding the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 8:55-56 he sees Jesus at the right hand of God. Stephen describes what he sees as the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Stephen says that Jesus is still a man in heaven in this present session.
Thanks
Tim
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Keep in mind that the KJV was rendered according to established religion in the 16th century. ‘At the right hand of ‘ is a Hebrew idiom meaning positional. Israel sat as a QUEEN. A queen sits at the right hand of, second in command, and Israel was in that POSITTION until she was ‘cast out.’ Jesus took her place ‘until all his enemies were put under his feet.’ Isaiah tells us WHO those enemies were in Is 66:6. That took place when the old covenant kingdom was destroyed in the first century.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. God is spirit and not a man.
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Amen. God is not partial to race, gender or ancestral birthright. The inheritance was never reckoned after birthright but after a promise. ‘Isreal is my firstborn SON.’
The land was never called ‘Israel’ until the zionist state of ’48. Originally it was Canaan, then Judea, Palestine then like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, someone claiming to be Jacob is trying to once again ‘steal the blessing.’
What is ‘SEEN is temporary, what is UNSEEN is eternal.’ This dichotomy of 2 trees, 2 seeds, 2 mts, 2 women, 2 cities throughout the bible paints a clear picture. flesh vs spirit, earthly vs heavenly, Hagar vs Sarah, old covenant earthly Jerusalem vs New Covenant heavenly Jerusalem. Abraham was not looking for an earthly city. Those of faith are Abraham’s offspring. The old covenant was based on the law administered by the Aaronic priesthood. One had to prove his ancestral birthright by law. All genealogical records were destroyed in the temple fire of 70 AD where they were stored.
Thank the Lord for his FREE GIFT based upon the Melchizedek priesthood order: ”Without father, without mother, without ancestry….’
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