Builders of Faith

Builders of Faith Explorer II:  Exploring End-Time Prophecy

Lesson 3—Israel and the Church, Part II

1.    What is the Christian Church called and why?

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”  Matthew 21:43.  “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people….”  I Peter 2:9.  “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart….”  Romans 2:28-29.

Answer:  Jesus told the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to another nation.  Peter applied that to the Christian Church and called it a “holy nation”.  It is not a political nation, of course, so it is not a theocracy (a nation ruled politically by God), but a spiritual nation of people scattered in all political nations of the earth.  The Christian Church can be called New Israel, or spiritual Israel, because that naturally flows from Paul’s statement about individual Christians being the “Jews” who now count as God’s people.


2.    How does the New Testament apply the Old Testament prophecy of the restored dynasty of King David?

“On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down….”  Amos 9:11.  “…James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me:  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….’”  Acts 15:13-16.

Answer:  Remember that David’s son Solomon built the first Temple, not David.  So the word tabernacle does not refer to the Temple but to the dynasty of David.  The apostle James acknowledges that God has accepted Gentiles (non-Jews) who believe in Jesus, and uses that as evidence that Amos’ prophecy about the rebuilding of David’s tabernacle (dynasty) has been fulfilled.  Therefore, the Christian Church is the restored Davidic kingdom.


3.    Who is the king who restores the dynasty of King David, and when does He do so?

“But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep.  Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain….”  Revelation 5:5-6.  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”  John 1:29.  “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of its roots.”  Isaiah 11:1.  “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people.  For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”  Isaiah 11:10.  “‘You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God….”  Revelation 5:9-10.

Answer:  First, the one who is worthy to open the scroll in Revelation 5 is called, among other things, “the Root of David” and a “Lamb as though it had been slain”.  Second, Isaiah 11 speaks of the “Root of Jesse”; since Jesse was David’s father, we know that the Root of David and the Root of Jesse is actually the same person.  Third, because Jesus was a descendant of King David, and He is the Lamb, then Jesus is the King who restores the Davidic Kingdom.  Finally, according to Revelation 5:9-10, it was at Jesus’ crucifixion that He restored the Davidic Kingdom.  Obviously, this Davidic Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom of grace in which Jesus reigns over His Church.


4.    When will the literal, physical kingdom of David be restored?

“…He [stem of Jesse] shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.”  Isaiah 11:4.  “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.  And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”  Isaiah 11:9-10.  “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.  And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.  He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”  Revelation 19:15.  “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”  II Thessalonians 2:8.

Answer:    Isaiah above refers to Jesus because (1) He is the stem or root of Jesse/David; (2) Revelation 19:15 says that Jesus will strike the nations with the sword from His mouth (very similar); and (3) II Thessalonians 2:8 says that Jesus will consume the lawless one (Antichrist) with the breath of His mouth.  Thus, Isaiah 11 is talking about Jesus, and these things occur at the Second Coming.  Then in Explorer I, Lesson #23, we learned that Jesus and all the saved spend the next 1,000 years in heaven, not on earth.  Therefore, Jesus will restore the literal kingdom of David on the New Earth after the millennium (period of 1,000 years).


5.    Is there any room in the Bible for a literal Davidic Kingdom between Christ’s spiritual and literal Davidic kingdoms?

Answer:  It would actually be nonsensical to conclude that God will reestablish the Davidic Kingdom of literal Judah/Israel in the Middle East between Christ’s spiritual and literal Davidic Kingdoms, because when Jesus establishes His kingdom, it will exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.  Therefore, to teach that such a restoration will occur between an alleged Rapture of the Church and the literal, visible Second Coming of Jesus violates the eternal nature of Jesus’ Kingdom—even if there really were such a thing as the secret rapture!


6.    Doesn’t Matthew 24 indicate that the Jerusalem Temple will be rebuilt in the last days?

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”  Matthew 24:15-16.  “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains….”  Luke 21:20-21.

Answer:  Those who support the secret rapture theory teach that the “holy place” refers to the Temple, and that the abomination of desolation refers to the end-time Antichrist, because they view literal Israel and a rebuilt Temple as having prophetic significance for the end-time.  However, the parallel chapter in Luke 21, at the very parallel spot in the chapter, makes clear that the abomination of desolation are the armies (Roman) and the “holy place” is the area near and surrounding Jerusalem.  In other words, the “holy place” is Jerusalem itself, not the Temple per se.  Historically, the Roman armies under General Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70.  Therefore, when you allow Scripture to interpret itself, we find that this does not refer to the end-time tribulation or the Antichrist at all.


7.    But doesn’t the fact that Paul states “the man of sin” will sit in the Temple prove that the Jerusalem Temple will be rebuilt in the last days?

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”  II Thessalonians 2:3-4.  “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit [breath].  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom….”  Matthew 27:50-51.

Answer:  First, please note that the temple in II Thessalonians above is called “the temple of God”.  Second, as we have learned before and are reminded by the Matthew passage above, no earthly temple would ever have any prophetic significance because when Jesus died, all of the temple services were abolished.  Therefore, even if the Third Temple were built in Jerusalem someday, it could not be called “the temple of God”.  Thus, the II Thessalonians passage here is not a prediction of a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.


8.    How can reference to “the temple of God” in Revelation 11 not be understood as pointing to a rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem?

“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod.  And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.  But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.  And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.”  Revelation 11:1-2.

A.    First, the temple in this passage is again called “the temple of God”.  Under Question #7 above, we noted that no earthly temple will ever have spiritual significance again because Jesus’ death nullified the meaning of the earthly Temple.  So again, even if the Third Temple were built, it could not be called “the temple of God”.

B.    Second, excluding Revelation 11:1-2, the Greek word for temple used here appears 14 times in 11 different verses in the book of Revelation:  (1) as the Christian Church (3:12) because every believer is a pillar in the temple; (2) as the sanctuary in heaven (7:15; 11:19; 14:15, 17; 15:5-6, 8; 16:1, 17); and (3) as God and Christ (21:22).  Significantly, it never refers to the Jerusalem Temple on earth.

C.    Third, the expression holy city appears three times in Revelation outside of 11:1-2:  (1) 21:2; (2) the Greek text of 21:10; and (3) the Greek text of 22:19.  The context of 21:2 makes it the New Jerusalem, not the earthly Jerusalem.  Note also the related expression, “the city of My God” in 3:12, which is specifically called New Jerusalem.  Consistent with this evidence, “the beloved city” in 20:9 should also be viewed as New Jerusalem.

D.    Finally, the usages of the Greek words for temple and holy city in the book of Revelation require the conclusion that Revelation 11:1-2 is not speaking about either the Middle East city of Jerusalem or a rebuilt temple there.  So what is meant here?  It is clear that only wicked forces could be portrayed as treading the holy city underfoot.  Since the wicked cannot possibly tread underfoot New Jerusalem, the holy city here must represent God’s faithful people, as cities often do represent entire groups of people.  It then refers to a period of persecution of faithful Christians.  Exactly when this persecution takes place would require a complete exposition of this prophecy, which is not necessary for our purposes here.


9.    Have “the times of the Gentiles” been fulfilled?

“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”  Luke 21:24.

Answer:  Supporters of the secret rapture theory have understood this verse to mean when modern Israel was created in 1948, or when modern Israel began occupying old/east Jerusalem in 1967, the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled.  One or both of these events are considered signs that the rapture is imminent, that is, it may happen at any time now.  However, the Greek text literally reads that this persecution of Jews would last “until times of Gentiles are fulfilled”, without the definite article the before either the word times or Gentiles.  According to Greek grammar, the significance of this is that the period of time designated to Gentiles is not a definite one.  It has a definite beginning, of course, in A.D. 70, but it has no definite end until the Second Coming of Jesus, which is the ultimate event in Christ’s prophecy here in Luke 21:25-28.  Moreover, Luke 21:21 warns all those who live in Judea, and verse 23 refers to “great distress in the land” and “wrath upon this people”.  Thus, “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles” refers to a time of trouble for the Jewish people as a whole, not exclusively for the Jews in Jerusalem itself.  Can anyone truly say that Gentile harassment and/or persecution of the Jewish people ended in 1948, 1967, or even by now in our day?  Therefore, neither the creation of modern Israel in 1948 nor the Israeli occupation of the entire city of Jerusalem since 1967 has fulfilled the end of “times of Gentiles”.


10.    Doesn’t Romans 11:26 teach that literal Israel will be restored to God’s “Most-Favored Nation” status shortly before Jesus returns?

“And so all Israel will be saved….”  Romans 11:26.  “For if you [Gentiles] were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches [Jews], be grafted into their own olive tree?”  Romans 11:24.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:28.

Answer:  The statement that “all Israel will be saved” is often interpreted as a prediction that the modern literal nation of Israel will be restored to top status with God before Jesus returns.  In Lesson #2 we saw that God finally divorced the northern Kingdom of Israel in Jeremiah 3:8, which led to their captivity and disappearance as a nation in 722 B.C. by the Assyrians.  (These are often referred to as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.)  Then before Jesus turned to the Christian Church as His special and “holy nation”, He must have divorced the southern Kingdom of Judah as well.  Thus, Paul is saying that while God eventually divorced Judah as a nation, He had not abandoned the Jewish people as individuals.  Since verse 24 informs us that both Gentiles and Jews are grafted onto the one olive tree, Paul is saying that together Gentiles and Jews constitute the olive tree as representing the entire people of God—Gentile and Jewish Christians.  The same apostle Paul makes clear in Galatians that there is no significance to being either Jewish or Gentile—that both are one in Jesus!  Therefore, while Romans 11:26 does imply that the major portion of Jews will eventually accept Jesus as Messiah and Savior at the end-time, it says nothing about the restoration of the political nation of Israel as God’s “holy nation”.


11.    Who are the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14?  I’ve heard that they will be 144,000 Jewish evangelists when God uses them to convert people who missed the secret rapture.

“And I heard the number of those who were sealed.  One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed….”  Revelation 7:4.  “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne with white robes, with palm branches in their hands….”  Revelation 7:9.

Answer:  Note that the apostle John only heard the number of those sealed.  But when he looked, he saw a great multitude that no one could number.  Could it be that what appears to be two different groups is actually one group?


12.    Who is the great multitude in Revelation 7:9?

“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’  And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’  So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation.’”

Answer:  First, please note that those in white robes were every member of the great multitude, according to Revelation 7:9 (see Question #11 above).  So the elder (who lives in heaven) is really asking John who is the great multitude?  Second, the fact that the elder asks John this question and then promptly answers is that he is trying to get John to see something here.  Finally, the elder’s answer is that they are the ones who “come out of the great tribulation”.  The Greek text does indeed have the definite article the before the word great, which can only refer to the final tribulation at the end-time in the context of the book of Revelation.  Therefore, the great multitude are all of the living saved who go through the final tribulation and live to see Jesus coming in the clouds of glory.


13.    How does the great multitude relate to the 144,000?

“[The wicked]…said to the mountains and rocks.  ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand.’”  Revelation 6:15-16.  “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.  And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’”  Revelation 7:2-3.

Answer:  The 144,000 are God’s living saved when Jesus comes who are sealed in order to protect them from God’s wrath.  Thus they are the saved who go through the great tribulation—making them the same as the great multitude that no one could number.  Among other things, this means that the number 144,000 is a symbolic number, with a symbolic 12,000 from each tribe of spiritual Israel.  This is further confirmed by the fact that Revelation 14:1, 4 call the 144,000 male “virgins”.  It is highly unreasonable to treat all this as literal, because that would demand that only 144,000 male virgins—exactly and only 12,000 from each literal tribe of Israel—will constitute the living saved when Jesus returns!  Furthermore, ten of those tribes no longer exist!


14.    Will the literal nation of Israel ever be God’s chosen people again?

“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, …so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross….”  Ephesians 2:11-16.

Answer:  Paul plainly says here that through Jesus’ sacrifice, He made Jews and Gentiles one people—His people who accept Him as Lord and Savior.  Therefore, to assert that God will once again treat Jews and Gentiles as distinct and different peoples—by teaching that literal Israel will once again be His special people—is to violate one of the purposes of the cross of Jesus!

 

Quiz for Lesson 3—Israel and the Church, Part II

1.  Which of the following about the Church is taught in the New Testament? (3)

  It calls the Church a “holy nation”.

  The Church is God’s only theocracy on earth right now.

  The Church can be called New Israel.

  The Church can be called spiritual Israel.

 

2.  Which of the following statements about the restored dynasty of King David are true? (3)

  At least one Old Testament prophecy calls it the “tabernacle of David”.

  The Christian Church is the restored spiritual dynasty of David.

  Jesus restored the literal dynasty of David at the cross.

  The literal dynasty of David will be restored (in heaven) after the Second Coming of Jesus and on the New Earth at the end of the millennium.

 

3.  When will the political, physical kingdom of David be restored on earth? (1)

  At the Second Coming of Jesus

  Just before the Second Coming of Jesus

  At the end of the millennium on the New Earth

  It exists now in the modern nation of Israel.

 

4.  Will there be an ethnic Jewish Davidic Kingdom on earth between Christ’s spiritual Davidic Kingdom and His own literal, political Davidic Kingdom? (1)

  Yes

  No

 

5.  To what does the term “holy place” in Matthew 24 refer? (1)

  A rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem in the last days

  The sanctuary in heaven

  The area surrounding Jerusalem

  All of Judea

 

6.  What can the expression “temple of God” refer to in the New Testament after the crucifixion of Jesus? (3)

  The sanctuary in heaven

  The Christian Church

  The Jerusalem Temple

  To God and Christ

 

7.  When did or will the “times of Gentiles” come to an end? (1)

  It ended in 1948 when the modern nation of Israel was created.

  It will end at the Second Coming of Jesus.

  It will end after the millennium has ended.

  It will never literally end.

  It ended in 1967 when the nation of Israel began occupying Old Jerusalem as well.

 

8.  What is the relationship between the 144,000 and the great multitude in Revelation, and who are they? (2)

  The 144,000 will be a special group of evangelists who give the lost their last opportunity to be saved.

  Both groups are actually the same group—the living who will be saved at the Second Coming.

  The 144,000 are literal Jews who will prepare the way for Jesus’ glorious return.

  The 144,000 is a symbolic number representing the great multitude that no man could number.

  The 144,000 consists of 12,000 literal male Jewish virgins from each tribe of Israel.

 

9.  No earthly Temple, even if one were rebuilt, could rightfully be called the temple of God since Jesus nullified the meaning of the earthly Temple when He died on the cross. (1)

  True

  False

 

10.  The literal nation of Israel will never have spiritual significance to God again because… (2)

  the Jewish nation as a whole rejected and killed Jesus.

  only spiritual Jews—which can be ethnic Jews and non-Jews—count with God since the cross.

  Jesus’ death created one new kind of person in Him so that Jews and Gentiles will never be treated as distinct people by God.

  He never intended them to complete the spiritual mission He originally gave to them.