New Testament Israel [Wednesday in Advent 3]

 

READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:

• St. Luke 1:26-38

• Isaiah 7:10-15

Grace to you and peace from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come; from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. (Rev 1)
 
Jesus speaks in Isaiah chapter 11 of His New Kingdom, saying:
[“with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.”]
 
Yet one more thing to add to the list of so-called Christian abuses, among Old Testament Israel and Geographic Israel, is no less than New Testament Israel. And as we hear Isaiah speak of judgment day, this evening, we continue to ponder just what is the true Israel.
 
What I’m calling New Testament Israel is primarily and most times solely sourced from the book of Revelation. That is the Israel that descends from the new heavens. One of the reasons NT Israel is so popular is that no one knows what it looks like and so they take this as license to make it whatever they want it to be, because it has never been on earth before.
 
“the Bride adorned for her Bridegroom” takes on an other-worldly shape, according to the Bible. Basically, what St. John sees in his revelation is a shape that cannot exist on earth, as it is now, in sin. Yet, that doesn’t stop certain groups from cashing in on what they think it will look like and making it a point of division.
 
I remember reading through a pamphlet once, about the New Israel. Probably from the JW’s. They practically made it a requirement of faith to believe that the New Israel would be a golden pyramid.
 
I called them out on this and said, there’s nowhere in the Bible that says it will be a pyramid. They replied, there’s nowhere in the Bible that says it couldn’t be a pyramid. This is the same abuse suffered by the Holy Spirit, that because we are dealing solely with the spiritual, allegedly, it can take any form we desire. We are the masters now. So much for Christ.
 
The problem is, there are no promises that the Lord makes concerning buildings. In fact He says quite clearly, He “does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:24-25). Also we remember from the past couple Wednesdays: God’s promises to the land were for it to sprout a Savior and the promises for the Old Testament kingdom were for the people of promise. 
 
So we should expect the same God that made those promises to continue in similar manner, if only because He doesn’t change. As in, His promises for a New Israel is an impossible structure able to hold all believers for all eternity.
 
In order to find and understand, we follow the word covenant, or rather new covenant in the New Testament. This is the distinction that God made. There was the Old Testament, or Covenant, but “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah”, He says in Jeremiah 31:31. 
 
The Lord keeps describing this New Testament saying, it will not be like the Old, but it will be when “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer 31:32-34). So it won’t be like the Old, but God doesn’t change. This means the Old is the shadow, or precursor. It is the pre-game. The way we do things in the Old Covenant will be preparation for the New.
 
From the coverings of the Tabernacle, to the gold-encased wood of the Ark, to the sacrifices, to the incense. All was sufficient for forgiving sins, for God had promised, and all was sufficient for gathering the people into Israel, where God promised to dwell, to receive it.
 
Thus, we do not look for a New Israel, in the same sense as the old one, some sort of building or stronghold built to secure the people on earth. For these sorts of things only hold some and not all. And we know God’s promise is for all. 
 
That is to say, that finding New Israel is easier than building a Third Temple. Most think it’s too easy. And it is not because God has failed either. Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel (Rom 9:6). Meaning, there were unbelievers within the bloodline of Israel.
 
So how does God keep His promise and deal with unbelief at the same time? Faith. Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
 
All the New Testament references to Israel, after the Resurrection of Jesus, point to the Church of Christ. The new Israel, the new Jerusalem is the Church. For it is not enough to be sons of Israel, you must be sons of Israel by faith (Gal 3:26). The true Israel is the Israel by faith.
 
Israel is the gathering of the baptized believers, by promise, on the land God created for them to dwell in, whatever land that may be. This is how you find the New Israel whether you look for her today or on the Last Day. She will be gathering to devote herself to the Apostles’ doctrine, the fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers (Acts 2:42). 
 
In the way that God talks about the New Israel, there will be no guess work as to what appearance she will take and there will be no objectifying her either. For God has set her standard, has redeemed her, and has sanctified her. 
 
Not on her own, by any means, but in, with, and through the true Temple, His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, when we speak of the Church, we speak of the Body of believers. Who’s Body? the Christ’s. 
 
That is why Baptism, the true circumcision, is a baptism into the Body of Christ. That same Body that has ascended, will descend the same way you saw Him go, just as New Jerusalem descends. The similarities we recognize continue:
 
New Jerusalem brings blessings to people on earth as it is in heaven. First is the removal of sin. “A river of water of life” flows from New Jerusalem and supports “trees of life” that are “for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1, 2) This physical and spiritual healing will remove sin and enable people to gain perfect life, as God originally intended.—Romans 8:21.
 
It also shows the reconciliation between God and man. Sin has alienated us from God. (Isaiah 59:2) The removal of sin allows for the complete fulfillment of this prophecy: “The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them” (Revelation 21:3).
 
And finally, is gives the end of suffering and death. By means of his New Kingdom, God “will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore” (Revelation 21:4).
 
The removal of sin, the communing of God with man, and the hope for an end to suffering and death are all contained in the New Jerusalem’s liturgy of the Divine Service. New Jerusalem, or Israel, is here on earth already. She is baptizing, calling pastors, communing, confessing, and suffering. She is Christ’s and He is coming for her, for she is His Body and He is her Head.