A Defense of Israel’s Expectation, Part One

Introduction

According to the belief of most Christians throughout church history (including those who belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and many other mainline Christian churches and denominations), God’s covenant people, Israel, have no further prophesied role to play in God’s redemptive plan, and have no distinct expectation or eonian destiny apart from that which belongs to the company of believers that Paul referred to as “the body of Christ” and “the ecclesia which is [Christ's] body” (Eph. 1:22). I believe that this view is greatly mistaken, and have written several articles against it and in defense of the view that most believing Jews throughout history – including those alive during the “Acts” era – have an eonian expectation that is distinct from that which belongs to the body of Christ (see, for example, my four-part study, “God’s Covenant People,” as well as the related, follow-up articles I posted on my blog during the months of October and November in 2018). In addition to God’s numerous promises concerning Israel and her eonian destiny throughout Scripture, I believe that Paul’s prophecy concerning Israel in Romans 11 completely contradicts the view that the body of Christ has in some way replaced Israel, or that the promises God made concerning Israel and her eonian destiny now belong to the body of Christ.

The fact that God is going to literally fulfill everything he promised concerning the eonian destiny of his covenant people (and which will involve, among other things, a rebuilt temple and a reinstituted sacrificial system) is, of course, highly problematic for those who believe that God’s promises concerning Israel and her eonian destiny now belong to, or include, the body of Christ. In fact, I suspect that one motivating factor that has led some to reject the truth that Israel has a geopolitical/national destiny during the eon to come is that they don’t want to have anything to do with an eonian expectation that will involve a rebuilt temple, Sabbath-keeping, and a reinstated priesthood performing animal sacrifices. For example, I know of several believers who have come to believe that the earth – and not the heavenly realm where Christ presently resides – is where they’re going to be enjoying their eonian destiny. It’s no wonder, then, that they would find it impossible to believe – and would even scoff at the idea – that what we read in Ezekiel 36-48 (for example) could possibly be a literal description of the kingdom in which they’re going to be enjoying their eonian allotment. The belief that they’re going to be on the earth during the coming eon(s) precludes an acceptance of such a view.

However, those in the body of Christ need not worry about having to “share the earth” with those whose expectation will involve the state of affairs that we find described in the last twelve chapters of Ezekiel and elsewhere. As I’ve argued in greater depth elsewhere, the eonian destiny that belongs to God’s covenant people is completely distinct from the eonian destiny that belongs to those within the body of Christ. In contrast with the eonian expectation that belongs to those constituting “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), we who are members of the body of Christ will not, during the eons to come, be “reigning on the earth” as “a kingdom and priests to [Christ’s] God and Father” (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; cf. 20:4-6), or dwelling in “the citadel of the saints and the beloved city” that we find referred to in Revelation 20:9. Rather, our eonian allotment will be “in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1-9; Phil. 3:20) and “among the celestials” (Eph. 1:3; 2:6; cf. 1:20). Rather than receiving an allotment in the kingdom that is to be restored to Israel after Christ returns to earth, the kingdom of God in which we will be enjoying our eonian life – i.e., the kingdom of God in which “flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an allotment” (1 Cor. 15:50-53) – will be the Lord’s “celestial kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18).

Israel’s eonian expectation

With this important distinction between Israel and the body of Christ kept in mind, let’s now consider some important prophecies from the book of Ezekiel concerning the eonian expectation of God’s covenant people after Christ has returned to earth and restored the kingdom to Israel. In Ezekiel 36:24-31 we read the following concerning this expectation:

“For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine on you. I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you shall remember your evil ways, and your doings that were not good; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.”

What we read in verses 25-27 echoes God’s earlier promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34 concerning a “new covenant” that he would make “with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” And just as Ezekiel prophesied that God’s covenant people will be brought into their own land and made to flourish there, so the rest of the 31^st chapter of Jeremiah makes it clear that the fulfillment of the new covenant promises described in verses 33-34 will coincide with the people of Israel being restored to, and caused to flourish in, the land that God promised them (see, for example, Jer. 31:1-14, 17, 24-28, 35-40). Thus, we can conclude that, when the new covenant between God and Israel goes into effect, Israel will be gathered out of all the nations into which they were scattered and brought into the land that God promised to the fathers. There, God’s covenant people will be caused by God to “walk in [his] statutes,” and will “be careful to keep all [his] ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:27; 37:24). The “statutes” and “ordinances” that are in view here are those that God gave to Israel alone (Lev. 18:3-5), and are frequently referred to throughout Ezekiel (e.g., Ez. 5:7; 11:12, 20). A special emphasis in Ezekiel is placed on the keeping of God’s Sabbaths (e.g., Ezekiel 20:12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 24; cf. 44:24). And as we’ll see a little later, among the statutes and ordinances which God’s covenant people will be obeying during the eon to come are those pertaining to Israel’s temple-based worship and sacrificial system (Ezekiel 40-48).

We go on to read the following in Ezek. 37:15-17:

The word of Yahweh came to me, saying: As for you, son of humanity, take for yourself one stick, and write on it: For Judah and for the sons of Israel joined with him; then take another stick, and write on it: For Joseph (Ephraim’s stick) and all the house of Israel joined with him. Bring them near, one to the other, into one stick for yourself that they may become one in your hand.

Remarkably, one believer recently asserted that the two sticks becoming “one” in Ezekiel’s hand represents (or can be understood as representing) Jews and Greeks becoming “one in Christ.” While I am in complete agreement with this believer that Jews and Greeks in the body of Christ are “one is Christ” (which is a truth clearly taught by Paul in verses like Gal. 3:28 and Eph. 2:13-18), what we read in the above passage from Ezekiel has nothing at all to do with what Paul revealed in his letters concerning the oneness of all who are in the body of Christ. Like most of Scripture, this passage (and the rest of Ezekiel’s prophecy) does not directly pertain to the body of Christ at all. Rather, it has everything to do with the eonian expectation of God’s covenant people, Israel.

The people who are said to be represented by the sticks are not “Jews and Greeks” but rather (1) “Judah and the sons of Israel joined with him” and (2) “Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel joined with him.” This prophecy concerns the reuniting of the divided kingdom of Israel after Christ has returned to earth and restored the kingdom to Israel. When we do read of non-Israelites in Ezekiel’s prophecy, they’re referred to as “the nations” among whom the sons of Israel were to be scattered, and who will come to know that Yahweh is hallowing Israel when his sanctuary comes to be in Israel’s midst “for the eon” (verses 20-28). We’re also told the following concerning those among the nations during the eon to come: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter [Yahweh’s] sanctuary” (Ezek. 44:9).  And although we’re also told that certain non-Israelites will get to enjoy an allotment in the land alongside Israelites (Ezek. 47:21-23), these Gentiles are not going to be members of the body of Christ (for, unlike the Gentiles referred to in these verses, members of the body of Christ are not going to be enjoying an allotment in the land of Israel among the tribes of Israel during the eon to come; our eonian allotment will be “in the heavens” and “among the celestials”).

The fact is that the nations (whether Greek or otherwise) are simply not in view in Ezek. 37:15-17. Ezekiel’s “stick parable” has entirely to do with the reuniting of the divided kingdom of Israel. In verses 20-28, the parable (and the future state of affairs associated with it) is explained and described in detail as follows:

With the sticks on which you wrote held in your hand before their eyes, speak to them, Thus says my Lord Yahweh:  Behold, I shall take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will convene them from all around and bring them to their own ground. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king for them all. They shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any longer. They shall not defile themselves any longer with their idol clods, with their abominations and with all their transgressions. I will save them from all their backslidings in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. They will become My people, and I Myself shall become their Elohim.

My servant David will be king over them, and there shall come to be one shepherd for them all. They shall walk in My ordinances and observe My statutes, and they will do them. Thus they will dwell on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers dwelt; they will dwell on it, they and their sons and their sons’ sons throughout the eon, and David My servant will be their prince for the eon. I will contract with them a covenant of peace; It shall come to be an eonian covenant with them; I will establish them and increase them; I will put My sanctuary in their midst for the eon, And My tabernacle will be over them. Thus I will become their Elohim, And they shall become My people. Then the nations will know that I, Yahweh, am hallowing Israel When My sanctuary comes to be in their midst for the eon.

From these passages it’s evident that the land promised to Israel (the boundaries of which are specified in Numbers 34:1-15 and elsewhere) will, during the eon to come, constitute the geographical territory of the kingdom that is to be restored to Israel. We also find that God’s servant, David, will reign as king over the restored nation. Finally, we’re told that God’s “sanctuary” will be “in their midst for the eon.” That this “sanctuary” refers to a magnificent temple that will exist in the land of Israel during the eon to come is evident from the last nine chapters of Ezekiel, where we find God’s detailed instructions for the construction of this future temple (including its dimensions, parts and contents).

In my article on the “abomination of desolation” (http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/08/why-i-believe-theres-going-to-be-future_43.html), I argued that a third Jewish temple is going to be constructed in the city of Jerusalem before Christ returns. Around the time of Christ’s return to earth, I believe that this temple – which is going to be desecrated by the setting up of the abomination of desolation approximately 3 ½ years before Christ’s return – is ultimately going to be destroyed. However, according to what we find so clearly revealed in Ezekiel 37-48 (and elsewhere), this temple – which will be the last Jewish temple to exist during this “present wicked eon” – will not be the last Jewish temple to exist on this earth. At some point after Christ has returned and restored the kingdom to Israel, a fourth and final temple is going to be constructed in the restored city of Jerusalem (I refer to this fourth temple as the final temple in light of Revelation 21:22, where we read that John did not perceive a temple in the future city that is going to be descending out of heaven from God after the creation of “the new heaven and new earth”).

As already noted, Ezekiel wasn’t the only prophet to refer to this final Jewish temple. Other references to the temple that will exist in the land of Israel during the eon to come are as follows:

Isaiah 2:1-3 (cf. Micah 4:1-5)

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Yahweh shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 

Isaiah 60:13

The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 

Joel 3:18 

And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Yahweh and water the Valley of Shittim. 

Haggai 2:7-9

And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yahweh of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares Yahweh of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says Yahweh of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares Yahweh of hosts. 

In addition to the consistent prophetic references to a future temple existing in the geopolitical territory of Israel during the eon to come, the inclusion of such a staggering number of details concerning this temple that we find in Ezekiel 40-48 constitutes, I believe, a sufficient and conclusive refutation of the view that the temple referred to in these passages should be understood figuratively/allegorically. Significantly, in Ezekiel 40:4, we read that the prophet was told to “declare to the house of Israel everything you see.” We also read that Israel was told to “keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them” (43:11). These and other similar instructions echo the words of Exodus 25:8-9 (which concern the creation of the tabernacle in accord with the pattern Moses saw on the mountain). There is simply no good reason to believe that the temple prophesied in Ezekiel and elsewhere will be any less literal than was the tabernacle which God, through the mediation of Moses, instructed Israel to make.

What about future animal sacrifices?

Along with the immense number of details that we find revealed in the closing chapters of Ezekiel concerning the temple that will exist in Israel during the eon to come, we’re also provided with details concerning the different types, characteristics and purposes of the animal sacrifices that will be performed at this time (Ezekiel 40:38-43; 42:13; 43:18-27; 45:15-25; 46:2-15; 46:20-24). Consider the following examples:

“And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord Yahweh. This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.” Ezek. 44:27-29

“Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and purify the sanctuary. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court.” Ezek. 45:18-19

“Thus says the Lord Yahweh: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.” Ezek. 46:1-2

Other references to animal sacrifices taking place during the eon to come can be found in Isaiah 56:6-7; Isaiah 60:7, 13; Isaiah 66:19-21; Jeremiah 33:17-18; and Zechariah 14:19-21.

In contrast with these prophecies concerning Israel’s expectation, it has been the belief of most Christians throughout “church history” that the entire sacrificial system around which Israel’s temple-based worship was centered was invalidated or “done away with” through Christ’s death on the cross (and this is the case even among “dispensationalist” Christians who, in accord with their understanding of prophecy, believe that animal sacrifices will eventually be resumed in a future third temple). According to this commonly-held view, the rebuilding of the Jewish temple and the reinstatement of Israel’s sacrificial system would be inconsistent with the truth and significance of Christ’s death and would thus lack God’s approval. Not only would the performing of animal sacrifices at some future time be worthless, but – according to popular Christian belief – it would manifest a complete disregard for Christ’s definitive sacrifice for sins. In fact, I’ve heard one Christian confidently state that a rebuilt temple and the resumption of the sacrificial system would be an “abomination” to God! One fellow believer expressed this popular view in a public comment on Facebook, as follows: “Why would God commission [Israel] to build a temple to sacrifice in? That is like saying Christ wasn't enough, so let's all go back to the temple and bring in the Red Heifer. Also, why would the so-called coming antichrist stop people from doing something that was antichrist (instead of Christ)?”

As common as this view is among Christians today (and has been throughout church history), I believe it betrays a misunderstanding of the purpose of sacrifices performed in accord with the law given by God to Israel. This view seems to presuppose that God originally instituted Israel’s sacrificial system with the intention of temporarily (and imperfectly) accomplishing that which Christ would later do perfectly and permanently through his death on the cross. Or, at the very least, this view presupposes that God expected Israel to believe that the sacrificial system would, to some degree or another, accomplish what Christ ultimately accomplished through his sacrificial death. But that’s simply not the case. The purpose of animal sacrifices made under the law and the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross were/are completely different. The sacrifices made under the law were never intended to accomplish what Christ’s sacrifice accomplished, and Christ’s sacrifice was not intended to accomplish what the animal sacrifices offered under the law were designed to accomplish. It would, therefore, be a fallacy to conclude that, because Christ’s sacrifice was and is far superior to the animal sacrifices performed under the law, his death “replaced” animal sacrifices, and removed any further need for Israel to perform animal sacrifices.

But if the animal sacrifices performed in accord with Levitical law had a different purpose than Christ’s sacrifice, then what was their purpose? What did they accomplish? Answer: They were intended by God to deal with ceremonial uncleanness so that Israel could offer acceptable worship to God in the temple, in accord with what God himself had commanded them. The sacrifices made it possible for a person or object that had become ritually impure to return to an acceptable status for participation in worship at the temple, so as to avoid defiling the sacred place of worship. In the words of Hebrews 9:13, “the blood of he-goats and of bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the contaminated, is hallowing to the cleanness of the flesh.” In other words, the purpose of the sacrifices made under the law was to preserve the sanctity of the place of worship, and make people (and things) ceremonially clean for the purpose of worship in the temple.

Under the Levitical system, sacrifices were required to make atonement for the buildings, the altar (Exodus 29:37; Lev. 43:20–27), the Levites (44:25–27), and the sanctuary (45:18). We’re also told that sacrifices made atonement for the ritual impurities or personal events that separated anyone from participation in the temple services (such as child birth or a skin disease; see Lev. 12:7; 14:9-20). Obviously, it wasn’t a violation of the “moral law” (as codified in the Ten Commandments) to give birth to a child or to have a skin disease. Again, the atonement that was effected by virtue of these sacrifices pertained to ceremonial impurity/uncleanness, and made it possible for the person who had become ritually impure to return to an acceptable status for participation in worship at the temple, so as to avoid defiling the sacred place of worship.

Christ’s sacrifice, on the other hand, was not intended to make people and things ceremonially clean/ritually pure in connection with the temple-based worship system that God instituted for Israel. According to what we read in Hebrews 9-10, Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for sins made the believing Jews to whom the author wrote “perfect in regard to conscience,” it procured their “eonian redemption,” and it “perfected to a finality” those who were being “hallowed.” Since Christ’s sacrificial death had nothing to do with making people and things ritually pure and preventing defilement of the temple, it did not invalidate Israel’s sacrificial system, or take away the (relative) importance of animal sacrifices in connection with the temple. And the mere fact that (Gentile) members of the body of Christ may struggle to make sense of Israel’s divinely-prescribed sacrificial system is no reason to deny its importance for Israel, or its rightful place in God’s past and future purpose for his covenant people.

So, although Christ’s sacrifice is clearly superior to the animal sacrifices that were made under the law (since it accomplished something far greater than these offerings ever could), it’s equally true that Christ’s sacrifice accomplished something that the Levitical sacrifices were never designed to accomplish. Again, the purpose of sacrifices made in accord with the Mosaic Law was to preserve the sanctity of the place of worship, and make people and things ceremonially clean for the purpose of worship in the temple. Israel’s sacrificial system can, therefore, be understood as having a relative importance for Israel. Christ’s sacrifice, on the other hand, has an absolute importance for all people. Since Christ’s sacrifice has an absolute importance for all, and Israel’s sacrificial system has only a relative importance for Israel, the latter did not remove the relative importance of the former (since it accomplished something that the former was never intended to accomplish). And it’s for this reason that the resumption of animal sacrifices in a rebuilt Jewish temple would in no way be incompatible with the fact of Christ’s death for our sins.

Moreover, we know that, approximately 30 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, there were “tens of thousands” of believing Jews in the land of Israel who were “all inherently zealous for the law.” These believing Jews – among whom James and the other Jewish elders would’ve counted themselves – believed that it would’ve been wrong for any of them to apostatize from Moses (which we’re told would’ve involved no longer circumcising their children or “walking in the customs” of the Mosaic law), and that anyone who taught otherwise was wrong (Acts 21:18-22). But this would mean that there were “tens of thousands” of believing Jews who, 30 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, saw nothing problematic about Israel’s temple-based ceremonial worship and sacrificial system (for “walking in the customs” of the Mosaic Law would’ve included participation in this). That is, these believing Jews did not see any inconsistency between their faith in Christ and their continued participation in a ceremonial, temple-based worship system that involved (and was inseparable from) animal sacrifice.

According to the popular view among Christians concerning the validity of Israel’s sacrificial system after Christ’s death, does it make any sense that, thirty years after Christ’s death, there would’ve been “tens of thousands” of believing Jews who saw no problem with Israel’s sacrificial system? If Israel’s sacrificial system had, in fact, been invalidated by Christ’s death (and participation in this system was incompatible with the life of a Jewish believer in Christ), wouldn’t thirty years have been more than enough time for the twelve apostles and James to “get the word out” in Jerusalem that this was the case? But that’s not what we find. And not only do we find no disruption in the involvement that believing Jews had in Israel’s temple-based worship and sacrificial system, but it’s evident that Paul himself did not view participation in this system by believing Jews as being at all inconsistent with their faith in Christ.

In Acts 21:26, we read that Paul – out of courtesy to the believing Jews who’d heard false rumors concerning what he was teaching Jews among the nations (and who were thus suspicious of him) – agreed to take part in a Jewish purification ceremony to dispel their fears that he was teaching “all the Jews who are among the nations to forsake Moses” (Acts 21:21). Now, if Paul had believed that sacrificing animals in the temple was something that Israel ought not to have been doing any longer because of the sacrifice of Christ thirty years earlier (and that doing so was actually contrary to the truth of Christ’s sacrifice), there’s no way he would’ve agreed to take part in a law-based ritual which involved, among other things, offering a sacrifice in the temple. Had Paul believed that the “tens of thousands” of believing Jews who were all “zealous for the law” ought to have distanced themselves from Israel’s sacrificial system, then it would’ve been disingenuous and downright hypocritical for him to have done what we’re told he did (even as a courtesy to James). Such an act would’ve misled an entire company of believing Jews (tens of thousands, in fact), and served to further confirm them in a belief that Paul knew was at odds with their faith in Christ. The very thought is outrageous.

Thus, this single episode in Paul’s apostolic ministry tells us that, in contrast with the belief of many Christians today, the apostle of the nations did not believe that it was wrong for those who comprised the “Israel of God” to continue to participate in Israel’s temple-based ceremonial worship and sacrificial system, or that participation in this system by believing Jews was somehow incompatible with their faith in Christ. And this can only mean that Paul did not believe that Christ’s death had invalidated Israel’s sacrificial system, or that Israel’s sacrificial system was somehow “antichrist” (as the believer quoted earlier erroneously thought it to be). Even after Christ’s death for our sins, there has never been anything inherently wrong with, or “abominable” about, Israel’s sacrificial system, or the temple associated with it. Although Israel’s temple and sacrificial system has no direct relevance to believers in the body of Christ (most of whom have never been under the law and in a covenant-based relationship with God), it is also not something that we can simply dismiss as having no importance or significance whatsoever. It was an important part of God’s relationship with his covenant people in the past, and I believe that it will play an important role in his relationship with Israel in the future as well.

For part two, click here: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-defense-of-israels-expectation-part_17.html