Israel
We believe...
Israel is unique among the nations. While the Gentile nations had their origin due to the rebellion at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), Israel as a nation was created by God through the calling of Abraham out of idolatry (Genesis 12:1). God bestowed an unconditional covenant (the Abrahamic Covenant) on Abraham, and reconfirmed the same covenant to Isaac, and subsequently Jacob (Genesis 15:9-21; 26:2-4; 28:13-14). This covenant promised a continual seed, a forever land, and a permanent blessing.
The promise of seed was amplified in the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16), which promised an eternal ruler through the line of David. This too is an unconditional covenant, and it awaits fulfillment in the messianic kingdom.
The promise of land was amplified in the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1, 30:3), which promised a literal and physical tract of land to be the eternal inheritance and eventual possession of the Jewish people. This unconditional covenant awaits fulfillment in the messianic kingdom.
The promise of blessing was amplified in the New covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The New covenant, just as the Davidic and Land covenants, are Jewish covenants and have neither transferred to the church, nor are they fulfilled by the church. The church has reaped the spiritual benefits of the New covenant during the dispensation of Grace, but it will be fulfilled when the Lord, Jesus Christ, rules over Israel in the messianic kingdom.
These covenants are dependent solely upon God, making their fulfillment absolutely certain. The addition of the Mosaic covenant, which is a conditional covenant meant to regulate the enjoyment of what belonged to Israel under the Abrahamic covenant, alongside the Abrahamic covenant indicated that final fulfillment of the latter would require obedience by national Israel at some point, particularly the command to enthrone the king of God's own choosing (Deuteronomy 17:15). This requires a national Israel in the promised land, and an offer of the kingdom from the king of God’s choosing—Jesus Christ.
The prophesied Messiah came to 1st century Israel in the person of Jesus Christ, fulfilling Daniel 9:24-26. He was rejected by that generation of Israel—the unpardonable sin—thus postponing the kingdom for an indefinite period until a future generation of national Israel would enthrone Jesus as king. It is during this period of Christ’s absence and kingdom postponement, or intercalation, that the Lord has created a new thing, the church, which is not a nation, nor an ethnicity, but an organism made up of all tribes, tongues, and nations who have placed their faith in the Jewish Messiah.
During the church age, the Lord has placed a judicial hardening upon the Jewish people until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Romans 11:25), and the church is raptured from this earth to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:17). God has always kept a remnant of Jewish believers, including the apostles, and it is through this remnant that the Lord will fulfill His covenantal promises or restoration to the land (Romans 11:1, 5).
The tribulation period, or seventieth week of Daniel (Daniel 9:27) has several distinctively Jewish purposes, one being the conversion of national Israel to faith in their own Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14; Romans 11:26). At that time every Jew will place their faith in Jesus their Messiah and King.
This biblical understanding of national Israel informs several positions relative to the predominantly Gentile church:
The church has not co-opted the promises given by God to Israel, as God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore, we reject replacement theology.
The blessing and cursing woven into the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:3) relative to Israel is still in effect. Therefore, it is appropriate to bless the Jews and the Jewish nation, although being careful not to condone any sinful activity. Therefore, we strenuously reject the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement against Israel.
We reject Dual Covenant Theology, which teaches that the Jews do not require the gospel, already having the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants. Rather, we believe the Jewish apostle Peter who emphatically stated "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)." We therefore believe it is not only appropriate, but imperative to present the gospel of eternal life in Yeshua to the Jewish people.