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But one thing is certain -- the prophecies are Israel-centric. All the prophets focused on what was happening in Israel.
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Prophecies are Israel-centric. One of the things that has changed for me is one of the key questions I mentioned in my first post on this thread.
- Who is Israel? (Extremely important topic that can significantly alter our understanding of End Times prophecy)
As time permits, I'll be digging into this question and possibly affecting your view of who Israel is as an audience of End Times Prophecy.
As a preview, we do know and agree that most prophecies are Israel-centric but Israel is not a singular audience. Israel is a collection of tribes where various tribes are given different prophecies in some cases. At a higher level there are two major sub-groupings in OT Israel that receive distinct prophetic utterances.
Here is one prophetic text where these two major sub-groupings are represented.
Ezekiel 37:16 - “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’
Judah, stick of Judah (for the sons of Israel, his companions) - southern kingdom of Israel and "sons of Israel" uses the Hebrew word ben which is typically a blood-line descendent
For Joseph, stick of Ephraim (all the house of Israel, his companions) - northern kingdom of Israel and ALL in the "house of Israel". Membership in a "house" does not require a bloodline connection. It includes bloodline descendants, but can also include adoptees and other members the master of the house has chosen to include.
These references to two major sub-groupings under the label "Israel" are not isolated. There is consistent usage of these sub-groupings in various prophetic text throughout the Old Testament.
At first, you may already think you have a view of these sub-groupings because of the history of Israel, but what has opened up for me and I believe it is confirmed by Paul the Apostle is that these sub-groupings also have significant implications for the End Times. So, even though prophecy is "Israel-centric" it may be time to begin to REMAP and REFINE our understanding of WHO ISRAEL IS and how we MAP the various prophecies forward to groups of modern people while preserving the "Israel-centric" nature of End Times prophecy.
I'm going to take the label "Israel" and begin to poke at whether the label "Israel" applies to is a singular grouping in modern times OR whether it points to multiple groupings. If multiple groupings then who are they. The Bible should tell us some about who they are and I believe it does.
And yes, I am going to be bringing up whether or not we as christians fall under the scope of the "whole house of Israel" from an End Times prophetic point of view. Many people have a hardened view that "the church" is completely distinct from "Israel". There is definitely a distinction, but I believe I have come to see that the totality of scripture does not support the level of distinction that most christians make.
This is more complex and challenges assumptions. My assumptions have been challenged and a rich tapestry of prophecies, types and foreshadowings have emerged for me over time that has significantly challenged the views I read about at first about End Times prophecy.
Matt
P.S. I have never come to a conclusion about the length of a "generation". There is no definitive way to figure it out, but I do believe the "End Times" spans a longer period of time than most might think with the exception of the last 7 (Daniel's 70th week) or 3.5 years. It is certain that the last 3.5 years is definitive and limited to that time window. It is likely that the last 7 years (which includes the last 3.5) happens without a gap. So, I believe we can be in the "End Times" without yet being in the last 7 years.