[Matt Anderson]

The Israel of God - part 1

The last thing that has significantly altered my understanding of End Times prophecy is "Who is Israel?". I am going to try to share some of the understanding that I have gained about the "Israel of God". This means the "Israel" that God has defined by His creative actions and choices.

Galatians 6:16

And all those who follow this rule, peace and mercy be on them and on the Israel of God.

I believe Paul understood something about the "Israel of God" that went beyond the definition that many of us use when we think about the name "Israel".

Romans 9:6-7

6 But it is not as if the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac will your descendants be named.”

In summary, this tells us that the scope of true "Israel" is bigger than lineal descendants of Israel. It also tells us that it is not about lineal descending from Abraham, but named according to Isaac (this is not just a lineal descendants, but of faith which includes us as adopted children). Prior to this verse, Paul has already clarified that our inclusion by faith makes us children of Abraham and that this establishes us as part of "many nations" descending from Abraham.

Romans 4:16-17

16 Because of this, it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise may be secure to all the descendants, not only to those of the law, but also to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (just as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are

Just these few verses help expand the scope of the name/title "Israel" to be broader than lineal descendants from Old Testament Israel.

We have been trained by dispensational ideas to think in terms of "Israel" vs. the "Church". This thinking is off, BUT... The real picture is pretty intricate. I want to lay out a series of key verses from the Old Testament to rewrite some of the history of Israel. This rewritten history doesn't get rid of things you already know, but it expands our understanding.

Before I go down this path, I want to address the idea of "replacement theology" which basically says that all the promises to OT Israel have been transferred to the Church. I believe this is incorrect, but some of what I will share might cause you to think I am moving in that direction. I'm not.

To help understand why I think this topic is important to End Times prophecies, I will start with a direct assertion. Israel is comprised of multiple sub-groupings. I am pretty sure all of these sub-groupings are relevant up to the End Times and some of the prophecies (good and bad ones) are pointed directly at the Church through at least one of the audiences in the Old Testament USING SOME of the references to Israel.

Here are some major sub-groupings (there are more smaller sub-groupings)

• Houses - House of Jacob, House of Israel, House of Judah, House of Joseph -- A "house" contains natural born children, adopted children and even sometimes the servants in a "house".
• Children/Sons of Israel -- refers to lineal descendants (i.e. blood-line children)
• Individuals that sometimes point at sub-groupings - Judah, Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh

These audiences of God's speaking overlap in some cases. When it comes to the label "Israel" it is important to remember that it is a name that is placed by Gods's election / choosing. No one in the Old Testament was born with the name "Israel". Think of it as a title. It is a title that moves around during the history of Israel. It's movement is under the hand of God. Let's look at some of these moves.

#1 - (Genesis 32:22-32) Jacob wrestles with God and is BLESSED (v29) with the name Israel. The title Israel is bestowed for the first time.
#2 - (Genesis 35:9-11) God visits Jacob again. Jacob's name change is finalized and the BLESSING is expanded. The blessing on Abraham is passed to the title Israel (v10 says "Then his name was called Israel") and then he is blessed in verses 11 & 12.

Genesis 35:11-12

11 Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall go out from your loins. 12 And as for the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give it to you. And to your descendants after you I will give the land.

#3 - (Genesis 48:3-6) The title of Israel passes to Ephraim by means of adoption. This is not my interpretation. God confirms this action as an adoption with great signficicance. See Jeremiah 31:9b ("for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn.")

Genesis 48:3-6

3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance.

• v3-4 are Jacob's remembrance of #2 - Genesis 35:9-11. He tells Joseph about God's blessing on Him which was transferred to Him from Abraham by God. Abraham did not transfer the blessing. God did. During the transfer, God applies the blessing to the title Israel.
• v5 shows Jacob adopting Ephraim (2nd born of Joseph) in place of Reuben (1st born of Jacob) and adopting Manasseh (1st born of Joseph) in place of Simeon. Reuben and Simeon are replaced because of Jacob's displeasure with them. Reuben sleeps with Jacob's concubine. Simeon participates in killing people from the town where Dinah's rapist came from.
• v6 makes it very clear that Jacob has taken Joseph's two sons as his own. He calls them "mine" and then tells Joseph any other children that Joseph has are Joseph's.

I am going to stop here and call this "part 1". I know that everyone knows about Judah because he is part of the blood line of Jesus, but are you familiar with the fact that Ephraim inherited the title of Israel at this point in Genesis and became the FIRSTBORN OF ISRAEL BY ADOPTION? If not, what I am sharing will rewrite your understanding of Old Testament history and begin to point towards what I have to say about how this could affect our understanding of End Times prophecies. Again, what you know of Judah and Jesus as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" won't change. I am just adding more and bringing out the importance of understanding some of the sub-groupings in Israel. Understanding these audiences (sub-groupings) in Israel becomes important when we read the prophetic speaking from God that is pointed at the End Times.

Matt