Tag: israel

“I WILL RESTORE THEM TO THEIR LAND”?

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Jeremiah 30:1 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’” But notice when this would be fulfilled: 30:9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c it predicts that one day David will be their king again, and that always is fulfilled figuratively in Jesus. Also 34:In the latter days you will understand this.” The “latter days” refers to the last days of the Jewish age from AD 30 to AD 70. So the restoration of the fortunes of Israel and being brought back to their land would be fulfilled at the same time as David, i.e. Jesus, would be their king, which was fulfilled when Jesus ascended to heaven.

Ezekiel 34:11 For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will feed them with judgment.” In Ezekiel 34 God condemns the elders of Israel for not shepherding the flock as they should. He predicts that in the future God himself will take over shepherding the flock. We know that this passage is a Messianic prediction fulfilled in Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10) b/c 34:23 “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.” Anytime the prophets predicted that one day David would be king, shepherd, and prince over the flock it refers to Jesus. So being brought back to their land would be fulfilled at the same time as David, i.e. Jesus, being made Shepherd of the flock. That was fulfilled when Jesus became the Shepherd of the Jewish believing remnant.

Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. 28 And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c it predicts that God will put His Spirit within them. That was fulfilled in Acts 2 and in the last days of the Jewish age when the miraculous indwelling was poured out on the remnant Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah (as was also predicted by the prophet Joel in Joel 2:28-32). He did not put His Spirit in the unbelieving Jews.

Ezekiel 37: 14 And I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’” 37:21 And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.” This is the famous “valley of dry bones”. The dry bones represent the dead in sin state of Israel and predicts that one day God will put His Spirit in them and raise them from their graves spiritually. Again, this is a Messianic prediction b/c God put HIs Spirit in the remnant Jews who accepted Jesus in Acts 2 and the last days. He did not put His Spirit in the unbelieving Jews. We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c, as in Ezekiel 34:23-25, it predicts that one day David will be their king again, and that always is fulfilled figuratively in Jesus. 37:24 “And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and follow them. 25 And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and set My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My dwelling place also will be among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’” So the bringing to their own land would be fulfilled at the same time as the pouring out of the Spririt, which was fulfilled in the book of Acts as God poured out His Spirit on the believing Jewish remnant.

These prophecies from Jeremiah and Ezekiel are obviously Messianic. They are predicting a time in their future when the “fortunes of Israel” will be restored and Israel will be brought back to live on their land (the promised land). But they also predict that when that is fulfilled that David will be their king and that always figuratively is fulfilled in Jesus as king (not a literal raising of David from the grave to be king). They also predict that when that is fulfilled that God will pour out His Spirit on Israel and this would be fulfilled when God poured out His Spirit on the Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus as the Messiah in Acts 2 and during the last days of the Jewish age. So it would stand to reason that Israel’s fortunes being restored and Israel being brought back to live in the land would be fulfilled at the same time in some way for the Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus. Of course, the believing remnant did not receive physical land as fulfillment of this prediction. Paul says in Romans 9 that the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament did not fail to come to pass. But he quickly points out that the promises were fulfilled in spiritual Israel, i.e. the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and not the whole nation of Israel. Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”

So, the promises of restoration of the fortunes of Israel and returning to their land was fulfilled only for the Jewish believing remnant and not the whole nation. It was already being fulfilled spiritually and figuratively when Paul wrote Romans 9.  The prophets were not predicting, as many claim, that the whole Jewish nation would one day be restored to the physical land of Palestine, which many say was fulfilled in the 1948 statehood of Israel and their being given much of the promised land (but not all) by the United Nations.

So, if this only refers to the Jewish believing remnant being brought back to their land, and if this was not fulfilled literally, then what does it refer to? The Jews were expecting the entire nation to be restored to its physical power just as in the kingdom of David. Even the apostles expected this after the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 1:6 So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Then Peter said in Acts 3:19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times.” That was not predicting a restoration of Israel to physical power but instead was predicting a restoration for the believing Jewish remnant of spiritual blessings, i.e. forgiveness, salvation in Jesus, grace, etc.

But what about the promise to be brought back to their land. If this was not meant to be a physical return to the land, and if it only was fulfilled for the Jewish believing remnant, then it must have been fulfilled figuratively and spiritually in some way. I have always struggled to explain how that was fulfilled, but I think I finally have it figured out. I received help on this from Philip Mauro’s book, The Hope of Israel (published in 1971). He said that this referred to “the heavenly places”. Paul said that the early Christians, Jew and Gentiles, were raised from the death spiritually to be made alive spiritually and raised to sit with Christ in the heavenly places. Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead n our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So the land promise for the believing Jewish remnant was fulfilled when they were raised to sit in the heavenly places, i.e. a spiritual realm of safety in the hands of God. John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” That makes sense since the physical land of Palestine is where physical Israel dwelt and a spiritual land, the heavenly places, would be a figurative spiritual fulfillment since it does not refer to a physical fulfillment.

The figurative spiritual land that the believing Jewish remnant received, and that all believers receive, is to dwell in the heavenly places with Christ, a spiritual realm, in the very hands of God HImself. That is far better than getting some piece of dirt somewhere. It does take an understanding in the figurative fulfillment of prophecies to come to this conclusion. People tend to want to understand all prophecy as being fulfilled literally. Indeed, some predictions are fulfilled literally, such as Micah 5:2 Jesus being born in Bethlehem. But many of the prophecies, as seen by “David being their king” are obviously fulfilled figuratively and spiritually, not literally. That would be true of the land promise. It is sad that so much false expectations are put on Israel returning to the holy land in 1948 as the fulfillment of the land promises. It makes Christians feel that they must support Israel in the holy land today as some part of God fulfilling HIs promises, which is just not true. Many tied the supposed 2nd coming of Jesus to the 1948 statehood of Israel and being given part of Palestine by the UN. They said that Matthew 24 would be fulfilled in our “generation” (Matthew 24:34), which would mean in the next 40 years after 1948. Some thought the year 2,000 AD was the critical year and that the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9 would be fulfilled in the last 7 years before the year 2,000. Nothing happened. Here we are in 2025 AD and still nothing has happened. The further we get from 1948 and nothing happening. shows that their predictions were wrong.

That is very similar to Jesus’ actual predictions of his 2nd coming that was to be within the lifetime and generation (Matthew 24:34) (a period of 40 years in the Bible) of those he was speaking to (Matthew 10:23; 16:27,28; 24:31-34; 26:64). Either his 2nd coming was in the next 40 years or he was a false prophet. He did come back in 70 AD in judgment on the Jewish nation just as he predicted when the Romans destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. So he is not a false prophet as the Muslims, unbelieving Jews, and atheists claim. He did not “delay” his 2nd coming, as many claim. Hebrews 10:37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” But those who expected Jesus to return and set up a physical kingdom did not realize his 2nd coming in 70 AD. They simply said that his 2nd coming was delayed, but that it would still occur soon in the first century. As they entered the 2nd century, they still claimed an imminent 2nd coming, but it became more and more difficult to explain why He had not returned as they expected. So now their “delay theory” is going on some 2,000 years. They thought 1948 would be the solution to all this, but that did not happen.

I know this is long and detailed, but I hope it helps to understand prophecy fulfillment. I hope it helps clear up all the false teaching about Israel being restored to the holy land and what the role of the nation of Israel is in our future. The “hope of Israel”, as Philip Mauro so clearly shows, is that Israel would accept Jesus as the Messiah and received spiritual, not physical, blessings today. It is not some hope of the nation of Israel receiving land or being restored as a power. We should pray for Israel. They have such a long, deep rooted connection with Yahweh of the Bible. God has rejected them as a nation (Matthew 21:43) but He still longs for them to accept Jesus.


THE HOPE OF ISRAEL

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

While preaching to the Jews who came to his house arrest living quarters during the 2 years in his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul spoke of the “hope of Israel” in Acts 28:20 For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

What was the “hope of Israel” that Paul kept mentioning? “The “hope of Israel” refers to the expectation and belief in a future restoration and salvation, often associated with the Messiah, the Anointed One, who would bring peace and righteousness to the world. This hope encompasses various aspects, including the return of Israel to the Promised Land, the establishment of God’s kingdom, and the resurrection of the dead.” (AI) This expectation was based on promises made in the Old Testament. In Paul’s trial before Festus and King Agrippa, Paul said: Acts 26:6 And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews.” It did include the resurrection of the dead. Acts 24:14 “But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there is ‘about to be’ (mello which always means about to be in the NT) be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Daniel predicted that this resurrection of the dead would occur at the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” That chapter 12 in Daniel is definitely referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD b/c 12:11 refers to the “abomination of desolation” of the temple which Jesus said would occur within the generation of those he was talking to in Matthew 24:15,34 just as Daniel predicted.

So the expectation of the Jews, based on OT promises, was a literal restoration of the Jewish kingdom brought about by the Messiah (the Anointed One), a return to the holy land, and victory over their Roman rulers. That is still the way non Christian Jews and many evangelical Christians interpret the “hope of Israel” today. They see the statehood given to Israel by the UN in 1948 as partial fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and they expect the rest of the fulfillment in the near future.

I do not agree with this literal interpretation of the hope of Israel. I believe all the Messianic kingdom promises were made only to the Jewish remnant in the first century who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah and become Jewish Christians. I believe the promises were fulfilled in a spiritual, not literal, way. Some OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally, such as the prediction in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It is clear that was a literal fulfillment and a one time only fulfillment in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But there are many OT prophecies that were fulfilled in a spiritual way. For example, Malachi 4:5 predicts that Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord (70 AD judgement on the Jews). Jesus said that was fulfilled in John the Baptist, not Elijah literally coming just before Jesus came. Malachi’s prediction was fulfilled in a spiritual way, using figurative language, not literally fulfilled.

So how can we tell if OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally or spiritually. It can get tricky but here are my guidelines. It should be obvious that predictions about Jesus’ birth place, suffering and death (Isaiah 53), etc. were to be fulfilled literal, just as they sound. They were given to confirm that Jesus was the Messiah so they had to be fulfilled literally and not with figurative language.

But what about the Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? My guideline is this. If a literal fulfillment contradicts New Testament passages, then it must have been meant to be fulfilled spiritually using figurative language. For example, Daniel predicted that the kingdom of God, with Christ reigning as king forever, would be established in the days of the Roman Empire. Jesus came proclaiming that kingdom of God was “at hand” and would be established within the lifetime of some of those he was talking to. So, unless Jesus is a false prophet, then the kingdom of God that was established in the first century as Jesus predicted could not be fulfilled literally in a physical kingdom like that of David in the OT. Instead, it was fulfilled spiritually in the establishment of the church, a spiritual kingdom. Many say that Jesus meant to establish a physical kingdom on earth but delayed that until his 2nd coming which they say is still in our future, but that would contradict what Jesus predicted.

The Messianic promises to Israel were just like that example. We go to Romans 9-11 to show that to be the case. Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” (NASB) Paul answers a possible objection that I hear made today: did God not fulfill His Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? In other words, “did the word of God in the OT promises fail to come to pass”? Paul argues that those promises did come to pass but that they were only intended for the Jewish remnant who would accept Jesus as the Messiah and become Christians in the church. He clearly says that the promies were not given to the whole nation of Israel, fleshly Israel, even if they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. As a matter of fact, he clearly taught that the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah would be judged by God when He sent the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.

So, if God did fulfill all the Messianic prophecies made to Israel by saving the remnant of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then, as Paul argue, the word of God did not fail. But those remant Jewish Christians did not get the holy land and the kingdom of Israel was not restored to the power of the days of David. So it is apparent that the predictions of being restored to the land were fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way, just as the kingdom was.

Paul goes on to say, Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” It was only the Jewish remnant that accepted Jesus that would be saved and not the rest of the unbelieving nation of Israel. The restoration of Israel and receiving of the land promises was not fulfilled in 1948. That was fulfilled in the first century as Paul argued, but it was fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way. The restored land was probably fufilled spiritually in the NT church kingdom being safely in the hands of God Himself.

Paul deals with another possible objection: so did God reject His people? Romans 11:I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” (NASB) It is obvious that God did reject the Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He sent the Romans in 70 AD to kill one million of them and carry off another 200,000 into captivity. So He did rejected the unbelieving Jews. But He had not rejected true Israel, which would be the remnant of the Jewish nation who would accept Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew 21:43 Jesus said that the kingdom was going to be taken away from the Jews and given to a spiritual nation and kingdom, the church.

Then Paul says, Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved.” If in Romans 9:27 the “remnant who would be saved” was the Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then the “all Israel” in Romans 11:26 must also mean the remnan Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Most all the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah initially. But Paul is pedicting that some of those who rejected Jesus will see the Gentiles being saved, become envious, and later decide to accept Jesus. Paul said this partial hardening would happen until the fullness of the Gentiles had come in. That would all come to pass at Jesus’ 2nd coming in 70 AD. By then, the entire Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus would be gathered from across the whole Roman Empire and the. process of grafting in the Gentile believers would be complete (i.e. the “fulness of the Gentiles”).

So, I don’t believe there are any OT or NT prophetic predictions to be fulfilled after 70 AD. The plan is finished by 70 AD and salvation is available from then on for anyone who wants to be saved. I believe that Romans 9-11 should carry a lot of weight in. deciding what the “hope of Israel” was/is. The hope of Israel was that any Jew who would accept Jesus as the Messiah would be saved and blessed with spiritual, not physical, blessings. Many Messianic Jews did exactly that and formed the first church. Many Messianic Jews are doing that today also. Any ethnic Jew can realize the hope of Israel if they will accept Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Savior.

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Your song to start your day (why do I assume that you are reading this in the morning with a cup of coffee?) is “Dry Bones” by Delta Rhythm Boys, a group active from 1934-1987. For any old tiimers reading, they performed on the Amos and Andy show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVoPG9HtYF8 They sang their version of the song in 1950 and on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1951.

Actually, the song was first sung by the Myers Jubilee Singers and was called “Dem Bones” that you can listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d40FrFWxfEQ Very different wording.

“Ezekiel cried dem dry bones…Now hear the word of the Lord…Ezekiel connected dem dry bones…Well the toe bone connected to your foot bone” ….all the way up the body parts to the head and back down disconnecting them to the toe bone!

Of course this song is taken from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. I can’t imagine actually seeing this amazing vision in person. Ezekiel is sitting down right in the middle of the bones! This sounds like a scene out of a “Criminal Miinds” TV show. You’ve walked around in a cemetery of dry bones but never something like this!

A great slide from Sara McCoy:

God gave Ezekiel the interpretation of this vision.

We can assume that, at the time of the vision, Babylon has already destroyed the temple and Jerusalem (586 BC) and that the majority of the Jews in Judah have been taken to Babylon as captives. There were actually 3 deportations of captives (606 BC, 596 BC, and 586 BC). Ezekiel himself was carried in the 596 BC deportation. He spent the first 5 years of his minstry prophesying in Judah before being taken captive. He then prophesied for 15 years in Babylon.

BTW the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria in 722 BC, and this vision includes them also, “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (not just Judah). That can also be seen from 37:15-22 where Ezekiel is told to unite two sticks, one with the name “Israel” (the northern kingdom of 10 tribes) and the other with “Judah” (the southern kingdom of 2 tribes. The two sticks are then united into one stick. At some time in the future the two kingdoms would be reunited into one kingdom with one king.

But when would all this be fulfilled? There are two keys to interpreting the fulfillment of this prediction.

  1. 37:14 “I will put my Spirit within you”. This can only be predicting the pouring out of the Spirit in the last days of the Jewish nation (from 30 AD to 70 AD) as predicted by Joel 2:28-32 and fulfilled beginning in Acts 2 when Peter said that Joel’s prophecy was beginning to be fulfilled. God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. God told Isaiah in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” So it is safe to assume that when the prophets predict a pouring out of the Spirit that they are predicting the miraculous outpouring the Spirit on the Jews who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and who became the first church. Only a remnant of the Jews believed in Jesus. The rest were doomed to judgment when God sent the Romans to destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD, killing one million evil, rebellious Jews. The Jewish Christians heeded Jesus’ warning (Matthew 24) and escaped to Pella.

    That means that there is a lot of figurative language in this prediction. The nation of Israel is pictured as dry bones. They are dead spiritually, in their spiritual graves (37:13). The Holy Spirit raises them from their spiritual graves and gives them life, or “breath”. The Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus were raised from the dead spiritually and given eternal spiritual life in the book of Acts and the Spirit was poured out on them. God even puts them back in their land (37:14) which must be figurative also b/c God did not put the believing Jewish remnant church back in control of the holy land in the book of Acts and yet Paul said the remnant had received all of the promises God made to them by the prophets (Romans 9). Unfortunately, many teach that this return to the land was fulfilled when Israel received statehood and control of the holy land in 1948 AD, but there was no pouring out of the Spirit and raising Jews from spiritual death in 1948! That false interpretation of Ezekiel 37 (and several similar passages) had caused so much confusion and misguided political and religious expectations! God never intended to give the believing remnant the holy land itself. That is figurative of the place where the remnant dwell securely, which is in the hands of God.
  2. The second key is 37:24 “David My servant shall be king over them.”

This also has figurative language. The prophets often said that “David” would be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic Age and kingdom. Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Ezekiel 34:23-24 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” Surely it should be obvious that this is figurative language and that Jesus, not David himself, will be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic kingdom which is the church. Of course there are the “literalists” who say that all these predictions must be fulfilled literally, so I was not surprised to read one article that predicted that in our future that Jesus will set up his physical kingdom and raise David from the dead to be the prince in the kingdom. At least the author of the article was being consistent. Many literalists will admit that the “David” being king in the Messianic age is figurative and refers to Jesus and yet they insist that the land promise must be literal (and therefore 1948). 37:25 also has the same figurative return to the land as 37:14. Also 37:26-28 predicts that in the futue God would place his sanctuary or tabernacle among them and dwell in them. That has to be the church Jesus established, and we Christians are the temple of God. The book of Revelation is things to take place soon or shortly (1:1-3; 22:5-9). It is written in about 63 AD and predicts the destruction of the old Jerusalem that is about to happen in 70 AD. After describing that event in much figurative language, 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” The new Jerusalem, i.e. the church, would replace the old Jerusalem which would be destroyed in 70 AD. The new temple or sanctuary would be the church where God dwells. All this should make it obvious that all of Ezekiel 37 would be fulfilled when Jesus established his spiritual kingdom, the church, in the book of Acts and has been reigning over that kingdom for 2,000 years now. The believing Jewish remnant received all the promises of the prophets and were raised from their spiritual graves. Jesus was no doubt referring to this spiritual resurrection in John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Even as Jesus was teaching on earth some of the spiritually dead who heard the voice of Jesus and believed would be raised spiritually, not physically. That is the “hour is coming and is now here” part in 5:25. The 2nd part that “is coming” would be when all the dead of the Old Testament would be raised just as Daniel 12:1-2 predicted. All of Daniel 12 was fulfilled in 70 AD so that resurrection was to be fulfilled in 70 AD also. That is the resurrection that Paul spoke of in Acts 24:15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that is about to be(mello, which always means “about to be” in the New Testament) a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. That is the same resurrection that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 15 and he added in 15:We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Thus he is predicting that the resurrection would occur while some of those he is writing to would still be alive. He explained that the resurrected bodies would be spiritual, not physical. Believers, dead or alive, would be given immortality, eternal spiritual bodies. Where did anyone ever get the idea that the resurrection would be physical bodies coming out of the graves?

On a final note, notice that these promises in Ezekiel 37 are not for the whole nation. They are only for those Jews who would “walk in his ordinances and keep them” (37:24), for those Jews who would follow David (Jesus) (37:25), for those Jews who entered into the new covenant that only Jewish Christians would enter (37:26), for those Jews whom God would dwell in (37:27) and we know that God only dwells in believers. The Jews who supposedly fulfilled Ezekiel 37 in 1948 are not followers of Jesus. There are some Messianic Jews today who do believe in Jesus, but most interpreters say that Ezekiel 37 was or would be fulfilled by the nation of Israel even the nation does not believe in Jesus. There is just so much wrong interpretation of Ezekiel 37 and other Messianic predictions in the Old Testament.

If I lost you on this 2nd key, then relax and just remember the gist of the prediction in Ezekiel 37. Just like the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus, we Gentile believers have been raised from spiritual death and given eternal life in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-5). We have eternal life that the Spirit of God breathes in us. We will live forever after we die physically (John 11:24-25). Even if you don’t get into all the discussion about Israel and 1948, that really doesn’t matter.

Go back and sing along with the Delta Rythym boys the “dem bones” song and you will feel good.

FIGURATIVE FULFILLMENT OF MESSIANIC PROPHECIES

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Malachi 4:55 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” The Jews expected Elijah to come in person, but Jesus said that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prediction. Matthew 11:13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 17:10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”

This is a great example of Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled in a figurative or spiritual way instead of a literal way. John the Baptist would have the same type of ministry as Elijah did, i.e. of trying to get the Jews to repent before judgment fell on them. For Elijah, that judgement on the northern kingdom would be the Assyrian captivity. For John, that judgement would be the Romans killing one million Jews when they destroyed the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD. Many OT Messianic prophecies were fulfilled figuratively in the new Messianic kingdom of Jesus in the NT. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel predicted that David would be the prince, shepherd, and king of the Messianic kingdom (Ezekiel 34:23,24; Jeremiah 30:9), but most agree that figuratively refers to Jesus as our king, Prince of Peace, and Good Shepherd. Jesus predicted that the kingdom to be established in the days of the 4th empire of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 4) was “at hand”. He even said that some of those he was talking to would be alive to see Him coming (2nd coming) in his kingdom. Matthew 16: 27 `For, the Son of Man is about to come (mello which always means “about to) in the NT) in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work. 28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.’ Was Jesus a false prophet or mistaken in this prediction of an imminent establishment of the kingdom of Daniel 2? Of course not. That prediction was fulfilled figuratively in a spiritual kingdom, the church. Paul said that the Colossians were in that kingdom. Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Revelation 1:To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Another example: Jeremiah 33:14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to prepare sacrifices continually.’” The Branch of David always is a prediction of Jesus in the OT, so this is a prediction for the Messianic Age to come. “David not lacking a man to sit on his throne” is a prediction based on God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. That is fulfilled by Jesus siting on the throne of David figuratively, forever.

But what about vs 18? If this was to be fulfilled literally, then in the Messianic Age, which is the church age now, will the Levitical priesthood with Aaron’s descendants being the high priests be restored, and will animal burnt offerings be resumed? I like these comments: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers(18) Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man . . .—Here again we have a promise which received a fulfilment other than that which the words appeared to imply, and which doubtless was in the prophet’s thoughts. The Levitical priesthood passed away (Hebrews 7:11), but Christ was made a Priest after the order of Melchizedek; and by virtue of their union with Him, His people became a holy priesthood (Hebrews 10:19-22), offering, not the burnt-offerings and meat-offerings which were figures of the true, but the spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (1Peter 2:5; Hebrews 13:15,16), the sacrifice of body, soul, and spirit, which alone was acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).” The burnt offerings would be the offering of Jesus’ body for our sins on the cross once for all time. This prophecy could include the spiritual sacrifices that we offer as a spiritual priesthood.

But what about the predictions that Israel would be restored and live in the holy land again? Jeremiah 30:2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’” 33: 7 And I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will rebuild them as they were at first.” Ezekiel 36:26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. 28 And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” Was the restoration of Israel to the promised land to be fulfilled literally, or is that another prophecy to be (and has been) fulfilled figuratively in the church? A key to interpret this correctly is vs 27: “I will put My Spirit within you”. That was fulfilled during the last days of the Jewish Age (AD 30-AD 70) as Jesus poured out the Spirit on believers in the church (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-22), so we expect the land prediction to be fulfilled at the same time. Also, who is to be filled with the Spirit? Is it the nation of Israel even though most of them rejected Jesus as the Messiah? Of course not. It refers to spiritual Israel, i.e. the remnant of the Jewish nation who would accept Jesus as the Messiah and become the first church. The first Jewish remnant church in the book of Acts did not receive the physical holy land as a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prediction. This prophecy was, like all the others, fulfilled literally. Jesus said the “meek would inherit the earth”. Any kingdom must have land. The spiritual kingdom, the church, has spiritual land. That spiritual land is the “new heavens and new earth that Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 65:“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing.” The new heavens and earth is the spiritual realm of the kingdom of Jesus over which he rules in the church. It does not refer to the nation of Israel receiving the holy land in 1948 as many claim. It is fulfilled spiritually. It refers to a restoration of the fortunes of only the remnant of Jews who accepted Jesus. It refers to spiritual, not physical land. The “new Jerusalem” of Isaiah 65:18 is a prediction of the church which is the new heavenly spiritual Jerusalem. Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.”

Likewise, 2 Peter 3 is not referring to something in the future where the heavens and earth are destroyed to prepare the way for the earth to be restored to the Garden of Eden state. It is predicted the imminent destruction of the old heavens and earth, i.e. the Jewish system and replacing it with the spiritual new heavens and earth which is the Messianic system.

Revelation predicted things that would happen shortly. Revelation 1:1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” 22:6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. 10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” The time restraints of “soon” and “near” must mean soon in he lifetime of those John is writing to. The warning is that they must repent and keep the commands written in the book b/c the time was near and soon in their time frame, not God’s. Sure, a day is as a 1000 years and 1000 years as a day to God, but that is not the context when God is warning people to repent b/c of imminent judgement on them in their lifetime.

Revelation 21:1-4 must be interpreted in light of those time restraints. 21: 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

The book of Revelation was written during the reign of the 6th emperor of Rome, i.e. Nero. Revelation 17:10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” Beginning with Julius as the first king of Rome (Josephus affirms that and he lived in the first century so he should know who was considered to have been the first king of Rome), Nero would be the 6th, the “one is”. He died in 68 AD so the book had to be written before 68 AD. The book’s main prediction is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70 AD. In chapter 17, the harlot Jerusalem is destroyed by the sea beast Rome. 17:16 And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Chapter 11 identifies who the “great city” (which is the same as the harlot) as Jerusalem, the place where the Lord was crucified. 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”

So 21:1-4 had to be fulfilled soon after the time of writing (and it was written before 68 AD). It was fulfilled spiritually in a spiritual new heavens and earth (the new spiritual realm of the Messianic kingdom) and a spiritual new Jerusalem, the church. These came down to earth soon after the time of writing and could only refer to spiritual things. It also calls this new Jerusalem the bride of Christ which we know refers to the church. 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

This figurative spiritual fulfillment of Messianic predictions is the reason Paul could say in Romans 9 that God had kept his promises to Israel. 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed.” The Israel that would receive the Messianic promises would only be the remnant Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” Those Messianic promises were received figuratively spiritually by the remnant. The rest of the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah would be judged in 70 AD.

It is so misleading to hear many saying that the OT Messianic prophecies are being fulled literally over in Israel, especially beginning in 1948 when Israel was officially given statehood by the UN. Please study the nature of fulfillment of those prophecies to see that they were never meant to be fulfilled literally in the Messianic Age. Paul said that God kept his promises to Israel (the remnant) but many are basically saying that he has not kept those promises yet (they are expecting a literal fulfillment).

I know this is a controversial topic, but I hope this article helps.