|
Promises to Israel- Fulfilled in the Church
Promise to Israel -
"Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the
sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the
place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be
said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.' -Hosea 1:10
Fulfillment in the church -
What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: "I will call
them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved."
"And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are
not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God." -Romans
9:22-26
Promise to Israel -
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on
her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My
people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!'" -Hosea
2:23
Fulfillment in the church -
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His
own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are
now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
-1 Peter 2:9-10
Promise to Israel -
"On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen
down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in
the days of old; -Amos 9:11
Fulfillment in the church -
"Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take
out of them a people for His name. "And with this the words of the prophets
agree, just as it is written: 'After this I will return And will rebuild the
tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I
will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the
Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.'
"Known to God from eternity are all His works. -Acts 15:14-18
In the same manner there are many Old Testament
passages referring to Israel that are in the New Testament applied directly to
the church.
Spoken to Israel -
"And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on
all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall
dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and
on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. "And I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the
coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion
and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the
remnant whom the LORD calls. -Joel 2:28-32
Applied to the church -
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord
in one place..."But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall
come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on
all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall
see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and
fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon
into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it
shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
-Acts 2:1,16-21
Spoken to Israel -
'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These
are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." -Exodus 19:6
Applied to the church -
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His
own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light; -1 Peter 2:9
Spoken to Israel -
"My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and
they shall be My people. -Ezekiel 37:27
Applied to the church -
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the
temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk
among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." -2 Cor 6:16
Spoken to Israel -
"Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to
them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. -Lev 19:2
Applied to the church -
but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." -1 Peter 1:15-16
Spoken to Israel -
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- -Jer 31:31
Applied to the church -
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. -Luke 22:20
If the church does not have a new covenant, then she is fulfilling Israel's
promises, for it has been clearly shown that the Old Testament teaching on the
new covenant is that it is for Israel. If the church is fulfilling Israel's
promises as contained in the new covenant or anywhere else in the Scriptures,
then [dispensational] premillennialism is condemned. One might well ask why
there are not two aspects to the one new covenant. This is the position held
by many premillennialists, but we agree that the amillennialist has every
right to say of this view that it is a practical admission that the new
covenant is fulfilled in and to the church.
| 
