Israel is the Church & the Church is Israel

Reading Time: 5 minutes

This is an updated article first posted in April 2022.

I saw this meme on Facebook and was inspired to make my own chart with Scriptures comparing Old Testament Israel with the New Testament Church. I hope you will agree with me that the Church did NOT replace Israel, the Church is a continuation of Israel! If you don’t agree, would you at least look at the Scriptures in the chart below the meme and tell me why I am wrong?

Attribute	Old Testament Israel	New Testament Church
Called saints	Deuteronomy 33:3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. Psalms 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.	Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Called elect	Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.	Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Called beloved	Isaiah 5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: Jeremiah 12:7 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.	Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 9:25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Called of God	Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.	1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Chosen of God	Deuteronomy 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.	Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
Called an holy nation	Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.	1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Called a kingdom of priests	Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.	Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Called peculiar people	Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Deuteronomy 26:18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;	Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
God walks among them	Leviticus 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.	2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Christ is married to them	Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.	Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Israel called the Church in the wilderness	Exodus 13:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.	Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

Dispensationalists call the theological conviction that the Church has superseded the nation of Israel assuming their role as God’s covenanted people, “Replacement Theology.” It’s also called, “Supersessionism.” These terms are both misnomers in my opinion. The correct theological term is, “Covenant Theology.” The Church, the ones God called-out of the world, have always been God’s covenant people. When Stephen gave his speech to the Pharisees, he called Israel during its time after the exodus and before entering the promised land the “church in the wilderness.”

Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

Are the Jewish unbelievers in Christ Jesus God’s covenant people today? Absolutely not. Can they become God’s covenant people? They sure can. I’ve met many brothers and sisters in Christ who were raised Jewish.

God’s promise to bless Abraham’s seed included the Gentiles!

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

What do you think? How clearer can that be? All families of the earth means everybody, both Jews and non-Jews. All true believers in Christ are the children of Abraham.

Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Download a PDF file of this article.

Please follow and like us:

(Visited 539 times, 1 visits today)

James, your excellent points in your article reminds me of various dispensationalists who continually cry out even today that we must help geophysical Israel. Anything short of this is shirking Christian responsibility. (What ever happened to the Gospel of Christ, Romans 1:16? “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”?)

Fortunately, God has permitted sufficient evidence to discredit them including Cyrus Schofield, for example, available documentation on-line of their divorces and remarriages, accumulation of extreme wealth without much generosity back to God and man, living a life of opulent luxury as owners of personal yet expensive to operate and maintain business jets and motor vehicles, expensive mansion houses and grounds, items normally affordable by the extreme wealthy.

One of these business jet owners only a few years ago resolutely refused to open the doors to his megachurch in Houston following catastrophic rain storms and flooding. The soiling of his church’s interior finishes to house these temporary refugees could have been easily repaired and restored after such an event, since they had the sufficiency to do so. Also, it could have been an opportunity to kindly share with them the Word of Christ. The church is not a building, it is the people.

Yet, the sufficiency of God’s Word instructs the Christian of the need to know the Word personally, above what others state.

1 John 2:26-27 (World English Bible) – “These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.”

As the Lord personally said himself:

John 8:31-32 (WEB) – Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

The cure for dispensationalism and false doctrine is a personal, thorough knowledge of the Word of God through personal reading and studying.

Reply ↓

Comments

Israel is the Church & the Church is Israel — 12 Comments

Susan on November 30, 2020 at 10:38 pm said:

James, God divorced Israel but it could be after she changed her identity through being born again that He married her again all over. Old Testament Israel were the chosen people while the Christians are predestined to be born from above, justified, adopted, sanctified and glorified. The Israelites had the Law of Moses written on tablets of stone while the Christiams have the Law of the Spirit written on their hearts now. Christians have an earnest deposit of the spirit. The priesthood changed too from Levitical to Melchizedek Order. There could be many parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament still isn’t revelation progressive? When you lay the Old Testament side by side with the New Testament I now like to imagine a step up between them. The Israelites didn’t have the Holy Spirit poured out on them like the apostles did at Pentecost. Now we are waiting for the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming in the future. Soon, I hope. You may find it interesting to google and read the essay The United States in Biblical Prophecy by Steven M. Collins on his blog.

Reply ↓
- James Arendt on December 1, 2020 at 2:44 am said:
  
  Thank you Susan for your comments.
  One preacher I like, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that true Israel has always been spiritual, not physical. God’s promises in the book of Deuteronomy to live in the land were conditional depending on their obedience! Paul in Galatians chapter 3 says that only those who are of faith are the children of Abraham.
  Galatians 3:7 KJV
  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
  What faith? Galatians is all about faith in Christ Jesus!
  
  Reply ↓
  - Susan on December 1, 2020 at 8:28 pm said:
    
    Thanks for that verse, James!
    
    Reply ↓
    - James Arendt on December 1, 2020 at 9:38 pm said:
      
      You’re welcome, Susan!
      
      Reply ↓
      - Richard Hirst on December 9, 2020 at 10:01 pm said:
        
        Susan,
        
        I fully agree with James that faith in Jesus Christ is the focus of both Old and New Testament. In Paul’s writings their is a glaring point he makes over and over that you might want to investigate. It is in regards to the “flesh” as opposed to the Spirit. It will help you understand Paul’s insistence that “circumcision” is no longer important for the believer.
      - James Arendt on December 10, 2020 at 1:32 am said:
        
        Richard, thank you for your encouragement. I’m sure you know that the Christian Zionists stand on what Paul said about Israel in Romans chapter 11. How can we explain that? The one thing that comes to mind is Paul wrote it before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. I do not see how it can apply to the State of Israel today seeing that most of the population are Jews in name only and are not direct descendants of Abraham, but are descendants of a Turkish tribe.
Richard Hirst on December 1, 2020 at 7:49 pm said:

Thank you James! I have been discussing this very issue with someone on line. She is convinced that God is going to fulfill some of the Old Testament prophecies (those that she does not feel have already been fulfilled) during the Millennium to Israel “of the flesh.” Do you have any articles on “unfulfilled Old Testament” prophecies? that also argue the continuity of Israel between the Old and New Testament. I was going to use “Gog and Magog” from Ezekiel and Revelation to demonstrate it but have not thought it through completely yet. Thanks again! Richard.

Reply ↓
- James Arendt on December 1, 2020 at 10:57 pm said:
  
  Thank you Richard for your encouragement! The only unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies I can think of are the ones that talk about the Lord’s physical rule and reign on earth. Here are two Scriptures about that which have obviously not been yet fulfilled. The preterists might not agree with me on that, however.
  
  Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
  
  Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
  
  Reply ↓
Susan on December 12, 2020 at 4:55 pm said:

The Turkish tribe are the Khazars and they joined Judaism in the 7th century in a political move made by their leader. That’s one reason there are Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews today. The Ashkenazi lighter skinned Jews are from the Khazars and I have read they tend to suppress and rule over the darker skinned Sephardic Jews who are from the original stock of Judaism.
Then again we are all out of Adam and the Bible says not to get hung up on genealogy. Maybe God wants us to stop seeing so carnally and see God’s image in all people so we love and respect everyone as much as He does us.

Reply ↓
Richard Hirst on December 19, 2020 at 2:42 am said:

James,
If you understand Romans 11 in the light of Romans 2:28,29 you will understand that Israel includes all the Gentiles who have come to faith in Jesus Christ just as the apostles had. There is no such thing in the mind of Paul of a Gentile church. We are all true Israelites if we are in Christ no matter what nationality we may be from, because as you have explained elsewhere that the church is a continuation of true Israel, and those who were broken off the “root” who were physical Jews by fleshly decent, are not true Jews, unless they of course are grafted back in, as Paul explains. When Paul says, and so “all Israel” will be saved, he is not talking about physical decent but about a spiritual relationship to Christ, who is the new head of the race.

Reply ↓
- Richard Hirst on December 19, 2020 at 3:09 am said:
  
  James,
  
  Romans 11:26 Paul quotes the old testament regarding “Zion.” Those who want to believe that there is a future for physical Jerusalem (i.e. the Jewish nation -of the flesh) forget Paul’s use of the term in Galatians 4 where he refers to a “Jerusalem” that is from above. In the same context he affirms that the Jews (of the flesh) are in bondage (slaves to sin) and that the son of the free woman will not inherit with the son of the slave. In Romans 11:27 “For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins,” Paul is applying that O.T. verse to their then present situation. They like us have the opportunity to have our sins dealt with by the Covenant He establish on the cross. While it is true that Jews do have some advantages because they have been the recipients of the Covenants, and it is also true that God’s calling to them is irrevocable, the “way” into the kingdom has not changed. And when Jesus returns it is clear that it will not go well for those “who know not God, and those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 1:8. The door is still open for Jews (of the flesh) to receive Jesus, and many of them have.
  
  Reply ↓
Jyooji07 on May 2, 2022 at 4:44 pm said:

James, your excellent points in your article reminds me of various dispensationalists who continually cry out even today that we must help geophysical Israel. Anything short of this is shirking Christian responsibility. (What ever happened to the Gospel of Christ, Romans 1:16? “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”?)

Fortunately, God has permitted sufficient evidence to discredit them including Cyrus Schofield, for example, available documentation on-line of their divorces and remarriages, accumulation of extreme wealth without much generosity back to God and man, living a life of opulent luxury as owners of personal yet expensive to operate and maintain business jets and motor vehicles, expensive mansion houses and grounds, items normally affordable by the extreme wealthy.

One of these business jet owners only a few years ago resolutely refused to open the doors to his megachurch in Houston following catastrophic rain storms and flooding. The soiling of his church’s interior finishes to house these temporary refugees could have been easily repaired and restored after such an event, since they had the sufficiency to do so. Also, it could have been an opportunity to kindly share with them the Word of Christ. The church is not a building, it is the people.

Yet, the sufficiency of God’s Word instructs the Christian of the need to know the Word personally, above what others state.

1 John 2:26-27 (World English Bible) – “These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.”

As the Lord personally said himself:

John 8:31-32 (WEB) – Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

The cure for dispensationalism and false doctrine is a personal, thorough knowledge of the Word of God through personal reading and studying.

Reply ↓

James Japan

Vital information you won't get from mainstream media, school or most churches.

Israel is the Church & the Church is Israel

Comments

Israel is the Church & the Church is Israel — 12 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Related posts:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply