This subject is at the center, I will say, of the spiritual battle for today:  is the present-day State of Israel of God, or not; and is the Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah returning physically, bodily, “in the flesh” in great power and glory to restore the Kingdom of YHVH God to Israel, and over all the nations for 1000 years?  Our reaction to the present war of Israel against Iran, which Iran openly started on October 7, 2023, through its proxy Hamas in Gaza, will give an indication of our position.  I am speaking to believers.  There are also unbelievers, even among people, nations, religions that have a choice to make as to which side is “good”, and which side is “evil” in this war against Israel, and the Jewish people everywhere. 

There are many questions for us to consider, examining and judging ourselves, and to increase and strengthen our knowledge and faith:   

–What is the biggest difficulty for you, or for those you speak with, regarding “replacement theology”:  meaning simply, that God is finished with the Jews as Jews, and with the promised inheritance and possession by the redeemed children of Jacob/Israel forever of the Land of Canaan/Israel; and, therefore meaning that the current State of Israel is not at all according to the prophecies in the Bible? 

–Is the land of Egypt still the land of Egypt, with its borders?  Is the land of Jordan still the land of Jordan, with its borders?
    Is the land of Canaan still the land of Canaan, which was promised by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to their descendants?  Or, has that land become a blur and only means “the whole Earth”?  Why is there such a fight over whose land it is? (Gen 1:1; Dt 10:14; Lev 18:24-29; 25:23-24; Jer 27:4-7; Gen 15:7-21; 17:1-8, 19-22; 26:1-5; 28:1-4, 13-15; 35:9-15) 

–Do you love your country and want its well-being, its peace, its shalom?

–Does the Israel of God mean [only] the Church/the Body and Bride of Christ/Messiah – replacing physical and natural Israel — or does it [at least] mean the Israel of the Bible that the Creator of the heavens and the Earth and the seas, and all that is in them — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob/Israel — has called to be His holy nation that will be His people, and He will be their God? (Lev 22:31-33; verses just before giving His plan of redemption through the holy appointed times)  The Church/Body of Messiah is never referred to as the House of Jacob.  

In faith and practice now, collective Israel has rejected YHVH from being their King and God, and wants to be like Gentiles who do not know Him, or His righteousness and love; or that He is the Father whose uniquely beloved Son is Yeshua/Yasua/Jesus the Messiah, and through our faith in Him we are also His children, His sons and daughters.  We are here as brothers and sisters in Christ, with one Father in Heaven. (1Sam 8:1-9; Ezek 20:32; Rom 10:1-4; Mt 16:13-18; 1Jn 2:20-25; 2Cor 6:14-18)

–Did YHVH God forsake humanity because of Adam and Eve’s sin?  Did He save you because you were righteous?  Are you living in a perfectly righteous way as the “elect of God” after you have been saved?  Does the Church-at-large live in a manner that honors and glorifies the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? (Ezek 39:21-29; Rom 10:19; 11:11-36)

–Do you pray for the sanctification of our Father in Heaven’s name, and for His kingdom to come to Earth (not only “within you”), His will being done here as it is in Heaven? (Mt 6:9-10; Ezek 20:41-44; 36:19-28, 37; 38:10-23; 39:21-29; Lk 17:20-30) 

–Is Egypt YHVH’s people now?  Will it ever be? (Is 19:23-25)  When is “that day“? 

–Do not add to, or take away from, God’s word that is written for us in the whole of the Bible – the whole counsel of God — both the Old and the New Testaments:  (Mt 5:17-19; Rev 22:18-21; Dt 4:2; 12:32; Pr 30:6; Jer 33:14-26)   

–The resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah/Jesus Christ confirms the promises made to the fathers:  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob/Israel  — to the people that today we call “the Jews”.  And the promises are to all of the 12 tribes of Israel (not only to Judah), including the Levites. (Rom 15:8-10; Num 25:1-13; Dt 10:8-9; Is 9:6-7; Lk 1:30-33, 67-75; Rev 7; Mt 19:28; Jer 33:17-26; Ezek 44:10-16; Mal 3:1-6)  What are those promises? 

–The Church/Body of Messiah is never referred to as being from the family and tribes of Jacob, only as being children of Abraham by having the faith of Abraham in the same God Almighty who raises the dead in order to fulfill His eternal purpose through His covenant promises and oaths, accomplishing His righteousness through the gospel.  “In Isaac your seed/descendants shall be called”.  The blessed hope of all believers from all of history is the resurrection of the righteous for everlasting life with God! (Acts 26:4-11; Rev 7; 14; Heb 11:17-19; Gen 22:1-19; Jn 8:56-59; Tit 2:11-13; Job 19:23-27; Dan 12:1-3, 13; Eph 1:3-14; 3:1-13; Col 1:15-20)

—Rev 20:1-10  six times in these 10 verses the 1000-year reign of Messiah/Christ on this Earth – with His saints – is mentioned.  (Dan 7:13-27; 9:24; Ps 2; Rev 2:24-29; 3:20-22; Mt 19:27-28)  

Afterwards, a final rebellion led by Satan comes, and then the eternal judgment.  Following that, then the perfect new Creation of the new Heavens and new Earth are created (in a very short period of time!).  

–All of the surviving nations from the Great Tribulation, and also from God’s wrath, will come to worship Yeshua, the King of Israel and King of kings, in Jerusalem, or else suffer a plague from YHVH of Hosts.  Egypt, for example, will have no rain if the Egyptians do not go up to Jerusalem at the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles/Sukkot each year during the 1000-year reign of Messiah/Christ on the Earth, whose throne will be in Jerusalem, Israel. (Zech 14:16-21) 

–While proving Himself alive for 40 days after His resurrection, Yeshua spoke to His apostles about the Kingdom of God before He ascended back to Heaven to the Father’s throne.  They asked Him if He would restore the Kingdom [of YHVH] (whom Israel had rejected in the days of Samuel) then.  He said that it was not for them to know then, but that, until the time set by the Father would come, they should go take the gospel as His witnesses throughout the entire world.  There is a time set by the Father when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in great power and glory to restore God’s Kingdom to Israel and over all nations and peoples.  The modern State of Israel is a time-stamp sign – the fig tree putting forth leaves — which the Lord has given to know which generation could expect to see His glorious return. (Acts 1:1-11; Mt 24:32-44; Is 11:10-16) 

Just as Jesus showed Himself alive with many infallible proofs after His “unbelieved” bodily resurrection from death and the grave (He had  been so beaten that “He was marred more than any man” [Is 52:13-15]), which vindicated His sinless life and acceptable sacrifice for atonement by God the Father, so, too, will the Millennial Kingdom visibly vindicate the holy Name of YHVH, who is faithful and powerfully capable to fulfill all of His Word (which He has placed above His Name! [Ps 138:1-3]) regarding the people and the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, the earthly throne of King David; the Levitical priesthood through Aaron-Eleazar-Phineas-Zadok, to the other nations and people groups; to this whole Creation! (Jer 33:14-26; Mt 5:17-19; 6:9-10; Ezek 36:19-28, 37; 38:10-23; 39:21-29; Ex 40:12-16; Num 18:19-20; 25:1-13; Mal 2:1-9; 3:1-4; Ezek 44:10-31; Is 46:3-13; 9:6-7; 2Sam 7; Is 62; Ps 117)  (All believers in Yeshua/Jesus, whether Jewish or not, and whether from the tribe of Levi or not, are not Levitical priests, but priests of God and of Messiah in the order of Melchizedek, a priesthood not of the Law of Moses, which was only for a select group of men within and among the House of Jacob.) 

Egyptians, Jordanians, Assyrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, Iranians, Saudis, Chinese – your nations’ futures are bound together with Israel’s, just as is the Church’s/Body of Christ’s:  if you want to replace Israel for anything else; if you think that God has finished with Israel and the Jewish people, then your nations and people will have nothing either.  The prophets of YHVH, whom He sent to speak to His people, He also sent them and had words for your people and nations and lands.  Some of them have a future hope; some do not. (e.g., Ps 83)   

We need the fear of the one true living God when dealing with His whole-hearted will and zeal to do all that He has had written for our instruction. (Gen 12:1-3; Rom 11:16-24; 1Cor 15:1-14)  The fear of YHVH is the beginning of knowledge, of understanding, and of wisdom.  Praise the LORD!  He is faithful to His own Word, and to the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sins and sinful nature; and He will do just as He has spoken, whether anyone else believes Him or not. (Rom 9:1-18; 2Tim 2:8-13) 

Let us ask for grace and courage to be His faithful witnesses through the gospel, which looks to the Lord’s return in the flesh every time we take the Lord’s Supper. (1Cor 11:26)  There is a price to pay to be His disciples, trusting Him for the outcome, and knowing that there is a better resurrection as our blessed hope when He comes again in the same manner in which He went up. (Acts 1:9-11)

Believers, whether Jewish or not, have to have a Tanach/Old Testament answer for the question that most bothers the Jewish people:  is Jesus Christ God/HaShem/Adonai/YHVH?  We must have an answer to that very good question about that primary stronghold and stumbling block. 

So is the question of Israel the people and land, and Jerusalem the city, a stumbling block and a stronghold for most Gentiles, and maybe especially to Arabic people.  It is a challenge to speak up for Jesus when it comes to supporting Israel:  not because Israelis are righteous, but because our God and Savior is, and He does not always make it easy for us.  He is love; He is holy; He is righteous; His Word is Truth. 

Without the Apostles and hundreds of others seeing Yeshua/Jesus alive after His death and burial, they would not have had the conviction to fearlessly and confidently preach the gospel, and to be killed for Him and it.  Without the 1000-year kingdom of God being restored visibly and in full to all the Universe, then much of God’s word has been “taken away” and “added to”.  Every jot and tittle of the Law and the Prophets will be fulfilled in full by Messiah’s reign for the promised restoration of YHVH God’s Kingdom to Israel, over all the nations, and throughout the Universe displayed.

In the fear of the Lord, we, as teachers, must be very careful, knowing before Whom we stand and in Whose Name we speak.  Israel’s and the Jewish people’s severest judgment is coming because of their continuing opposition and unfaithfulness to the covenants of YHVH their God given to them, and the terrible consequences of that. (Jer 30:4-11; Dan 12:1-4; Mt 24:9-25; 23:37-39; Hos 5:15; 6:1-2; Rom 9:1-5)  Yet, this, too, is in the sovereign foreknowledge and wisdom of God, and part of His wonderful plan of redemption, which has included each of us, despite ourselves. 

More non-Jews are being saved while Israel remains the enemy of the gospel. (Rom 9 – 11)  So He will do for the redeemed remnant of His chosen and beloved nation (Rom 11:25-27; Jer 31:31-37; Heb 8:7-12; Zech 12:10-14), and for all the other peoples and nations of the Gentiles that remain after His righteous judgments.  The glory of the knowledge of YHVH will fill the Earth as the waters cover the seas! (Is 11:9; Hab 2:12-14) 

God will sanctify His [already] holy Name, which we have all profaned through disobedience, both before and after our salvation.  He will do this through war, and with righteous judgments, and through His covenant faithfulness to save Israel — the family, people, and nation to be His people, and that He will be their God. (Gen 17:1-7; Lev 22:31-32; Ezek 20:33-44; 36:22-28; Jer 30:1-24; 31:31-37) 

Satan will not have any claim to any victory to boast about!  The sin of Lucifer-become-the-Devil, and of Adam and Eve, brought a curse into the whole created universe, and on this Earth.  The Seed of the woman, who crushes the evil one’s head and overturns the curse into blessed glory, will fulfill the redemptive promises made by and within YHVH God Himself  from before the Creation.  The Earth that Satan is destroying, with many sadly helping him, will be regenerated in the 1000-year reign of Messiah, with the saints, and with Jerusalem, Israel, being the King of Israel’s capital for His earthly Kingdom. (Is 9:6-7; Is 65:17-25; Ps 2)  

The Earth is YHVH’s, and upon this habitable Earth/dry land, God chose to give to the physical descendants of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob the land of Canaan as an inheritance and everlasting possession, which will be fulfilled after “all Israel” is saved.  Replacement theology writes off Israel and the Jewish people before, and without, God fulfilling all that He promised in covenant, and confirmed with an oath.  If God is finished with physical and natural Israel, and the land of promise, then there is no coming 1000-year reign of Christ in this world; and, if that, then much of God’s Word has been “taken away from”, a huge problem for us, God says.  Replacement theology (called by many replaceable terms) also writes off this Creation and this Earth before, and without, YHVH fulfilling all that He purposed for His glory.  The Redemption was built into the Creation, reversing the curse of “the fall”! (Gen 3:1-19; Rom 8:18-25; 1Pt 1:20; Rev 13:8; Dan 7; Mt 19:27-30; Rev 20:1-4; 2:24-29; 3:19-22; Is 11:6-9; Ps 67; Is 35; 51:1-3; 62; Heb 6:11-20) 

Moses cared about the good and holy name of YHVH more than about his own problems with his people, and was not willing to let the Egyptians mock and blaspheme Him if God did not do as He had promised to bring the Israelis into the land of their inheritance, after all of His mighty signs and wonders against all the gods of Egypt.  The Apostle Paul was willing to be accursed from Christ if that would help save his people — the Israeli Jews and nation — even though they persecuted him after he became a disciple of the One he had previously persecuted and blasphemed. (Ex 32:7-14; Rom 9:1-5)  

Do we really love our Lord and Savior above all; and do we really want the Father’s will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven for His glory?  Leaning on our own understsanding is idolatry, for we place the fact that we are not God above letting the only and one true God do what He really wants to do.  The whole of this Creation is eagerly waiting in hope for the revelation of the children/sons of God! (Rom 8:18-23)

If Israel is cast off, as replacement theology presents, then everyone and everything else will also no longer exist — not even God! — because of any of His Word failing! Replacement theology is not all about Israel and the land; and it is all about Israel and the land. (Jer 31:35-37; 33:19-26; Is 62)

There are “untils” in the Scriptures, and the time is nearing when the “untils/tills” will be fulfilled!  Praise the LORD! (e.g., Ps 110:1-2; Lk 21:20-24; Rom 11:25-36) 

Here are three, even four, relevant ones for our discussion:

Is 62:6-7  Do not keep silent, nor give YHVH/the LORD rest until…He establishes, and until…He makes Jerusalem a praise in the Earth/land.

Hos 5:15 – 6:1-3   YHVH/Yeshua went back to His place, and is at the right hand of the Father until…the Jewish people and nation accept their guilt towards Him, which will [finally] occur in their affliction, when they come to an end of hoping in themselves.  For “two days” (2000 years) He will deal harshly with them, but He will heal and bandage them.  After “two days” He will revive them.  On the “third day”, He will raise them up, that they may live in His Presence. (Jer 30; Zech 12; Lev 26:38-45; Dt 32:35-43; Ps 90; 2Pt 3)   

Mt 23:29-39   Jerusalem, God’s city (political and spiritual rulers, and her inhabitants)  will not see the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus again, because of our sins, and the sins of our fathers against YHVH God’s servants the prophets whom He sent to them for centuries, even the Prophet Himself , until…she calls upon the Name of YHVH and blesses Him, whom now they curse, who alone comes in the name of YHVH/in the Name of the Father. (Dt 18:15-22; Mic 5:1-5; Jn 18:19-24; Acts 2:22-40)  

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!