It’s the Truth

Below are two posts that I wrote recently and shared on Facebook.

They probably have spelling and punctuation errors because I wrote them on that platform instead of here.

I’m sharing them because I’m passionate about understanding what the Bible says on these subjects and voicing them for others to consider.

Here are the posts:

Would you allow me to share something very important?

It’s the Truth

Nothing is more important to me than the truth. If you know me, you know this is the truth

So let’s discuss it

I want to share what the Bible really says about the topics below

– Israel and the Church
– The Rapture and last days
– Biblical interpretation
– and how to be totally honest with these subjects

I’m not saying you don’t already know these things. I’m just sharing what I’ve discovered

First, I believe that both camps, the one that says the Church has replaced Israel and the one that says it has not, both have different things correct and incorrect about their interpretation of scripture.

It is important that we recognize that we may not always interpret the Old Testament the same way as those during Jesus’ time did.

Remember, there were 400+ years between Malachi and Mathew. During those years, God was preparing society and its interpretation of scripture for the arrival of Israel’s Savior.

In our Old Testament, God’s enemies were the Canaanites, Moab, Edom, the Philistines, and others. But in the New Testament, God’s enemies are those who rejected His Son.

In the Old Testament, God’s people were identified as a nation. In the New Testament, God’s people are individuals.

In the Old Testament, Israel had a temple, government, tribal priesthood, a physical land inheritance, and a military. In the New Testament, Jesus is the Temple, the government is His Kingdom, the priesthood is us, the land and its inheritance is spiritual, and the military is spiritual.

Therefore, if I “go back” to the Old Testament and apply Old Testament interpretation without realizing the full impact of Jesus’ arrival and its implications on interpretation, I may misinterpret passages.

According to Paul, Abraham’s offspring and those the promises of Abraham belong to are those of faith in Jesus who are looking not to a physical land but to an eternal land inheritance. For “in Christ Jesus, all the promises of God are yes and Amen.” And Paul here is speaking of ALL the Old Testament promises.

So then, who is Israel?

The “Israel of God” (Galations ch. 6) are Jews whose Messiah is Jesus. And all Gentiles whose Messiah is also Jesus are equal and one with the Israel of God. In other words, the Church, whether Jew or Gentile, are those who inherent the Promised Land and are of the Seed of Abraham, who is Christ.

BUT in the very end, after a great tribulation, Jews who are being persecuted by the Anti-Christ Beast and who are scattered among the nations will cry out “save us oh God” and the Lord will return and bring them out of those nations into Jerusalem.

So then, the Jews “presently” living in Jerusalem, living without tribulation, not scattered among the nations, and who long for a new temple, do not match the end times Israel who cry out “save us oh God.”

I do recognize that in the end, God will bring Israel back to himself (but honestly, I don’t understand what that even truly means yet). But I’m certain we should not confuse present-day Israel with that group.

Now, to discuss the rapture

If we trace these words or phrases that I’ve listed below from the Old Testament, we will gain insight into the rapture and how it works at the end.

Light, Day, Awake, Sober vs. Darkness, Night, Asleep, Drunkenness

Begin in Genesis.

But for now, I’ll just go to Israel’s exodus out of their great tribulation in Egypt. Pharaoh was the Anti-Christ controlled by Satan. In the middle of the 10 plagues, Israel has “light” while Egypt has thick darkness. Israel is not mentioned as being distinct from Egypt prior to the middle of the 10 plagues. But from the middle forward, Israel is supernaturally protected. Now, Israel may’ve been protected from the beginning, but scripture is silent on that.

This is just one of MANY repeated tribulations that Israel experiences in the Old Testament. Another great tribulation is when God sends Babylon against rebellious Israel. In fact, this is “the Great Day of the LORD,” mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Any great tribulation in the Old Testament is called “the Day of the LORD.” So think of the day of the LORD as a pattern instead of a one-time event at the end of history. The first “Day of the LORD” was the flood of Genesis chapter 6.

But regarding Biblical evidence to support a pretribulation rapture that occurs 7 yrs before the tribulation, there is no such evidence. However, there is one place that possibly could support it. It’s that before the flood of Noah arrived, Noah and his family entered the Ark 7 days before the flood arrived. Every other passage I’m aware of simply mentions that those in the Light, Day, who are awake and sober, are those who are delivered while those in the Dark, night, who are asleep and drunk, will perish.

Next post:

The disciples asked Jesus, “Is it now that you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

This question occurs after Jesus’ resurrection and before His departure back to heaven, found at the beginning of the book of Acts

Jesus answered by saying that it was not for them to know what time, BUT that they would receive power from heaven to preach the gospel

In the rest of the book of Acts, we find that this gospel is called “the gospel of THE KINGDOM.”

Are there two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of God?

What could have Jesus meant by His answer?

A better question is, what did Jesus and His disciples believe about the physical land of Israel?

If I read the Old Testament prophets, I discover that the physical land of Israel was the end goal.

Repeatedly they see the land as flowing with milk and honey, as full of life and joy, of healing and health, as full of fruit and feasting, and full of people living very long lives in peace and safety, with their King, the Son of David, reigning as Lord of all the land/earth in Jerusalem along with a glorious and exalted temple at its center.

This is the image we find repeated all over the Old Testament, and it is seen as “the Kingdom of God.”

However, when Jesus arrives, we discover this “Kingdom of God” isn’t actually located on earth.

Instead, we find it in heaven, in a heavenly Jerusalem, and according to Acts chapter 15, Jesus Christ is “currently” reigning on David’s throne!

When Jesus returns to earth, the book of Revelation speaks of a great resurrection of the dead and of a 1000 year reign of peace, and after that, Gog and Magog (other nations) suddenly attack them, but God destroys them supernaturally and then sets up a new heaven and new earth.

The interesting thing is, this resurrection of the dead and this reign of peace in Israel and then Gog and Magog suddenly attacking, is literally a re-interpretation of the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of Israel returning from Babylonian captivity to the land of Israel.

So, as I’ve already been wondering and writing about, should the book of Revelation be understood as using imagery from the Old Testament to speak of spiritual truths?

I ask this because the New Testament clearly interprets physical prophecies from the Old Testament as actually spiritual truths fulfilled in the Son of David, who is actually the Son of God from heaven, who reigns from heaven. And the kingdom of Israel is actually the Kingdom of God in heaven.

In other words, I think we should re-think how we interpret the book of Revelation and its imagery. And I think Jesus Christ fulfilled, in Himself, the prophecies regarding the nation of Israel. So I think there is no need to ask “who is Israel vs. who is the Church?” but instead, we need to grasp that an “Old Covenant has been replaced by a New Covenant”

Every prophecy regarding Israel and Her promises has moved from earth to heaven, in Christ. In the New Testament, Christ is “the goal,” not Israel or a physical land promise.

Thank you for taking the time to read these.