What God has given us is a mandate to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), which most Christians refuse to do. Most religionist believe everything in the Bible is to them, for them, and about them. This is why religionist and those in the media today do not knows anything Bible prophecy, and God's view of Israel today. So most all the that we hear in the churches and on religious TV today is based upon man’s religious traditions and secular philosophy.

Concerning Israel, like Paul, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved in accord with His word (cf. Rom. 10:1). We must ‘rightly divide the word of truth’ (2Tim. 2:15) so we may have a proper, Biblical perspective about Israel today and concerning “the ages to come” (Eph. 2:7).

God’s Promises for Israel in the Old Testament:

After the fall of Adam in the garden, God promised a Redeemer (Gen. 3:15). Fourteen hundred years later, God through Abraham set the nation of Israel “above all people.”

Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if ye [Moses and the children of Israel] will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

He promised them the “land” (Gen. 12:1-2; Heb. 11:8-16). Later God promised David a future kingdom on the earth (Psa. 2:7-8; Jer. 23:5; Isa. 42:4).

Christ, the Messiah of Israel, came into the world through the line of King David and establish His Kingdom here on Earth (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Matt. 1:23). He will ultimately reign on earth from Jerusalem (Isa. 2:3; 24:23; Jer. 3:17). His reign will extend over the entire Earth. “Yea,” David wrote, “all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him" (Psa. 72:11). “Yea,” Zechariah wrote, “many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord” (Zech. 8:22). Israel will be “priests of God” in the Lord's thousand-year kingdom (Rev. 20:4-7) in which they will inherit “the uttermost parts of the earth” (Psa. 2:8). Israel as the Lord’s agents on earth will bless the entire world, under Christ, in righteousness (Zech. 8:23).

All of Israel's sufferings and sorrows will be gone (Isa. 35:10; 40:2; 61:3). The governments of the world will be purified. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can truly drain the swamp. The Lord through Isaiah proclaimed that all war and bloodshed will be abolished (Isa. 2:4; 9:6), that health and long life will be restored to the human race (Isa. 35:5-6; 65:20), that the animal creation will be tamed (Isa. 11:6-9), and the sin curse will be removed from the Earth (Isa. 35:1-2, 6-7).

Israel, as God’s kingdom of priests (Exo. 19:6), will bless the entire world proclaiming their Messiah. Zechariah 8:3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations [Gk. ethnos, Gentiles], even [that is] shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (cf., Isaiah 61:6; 1 Peter 2:5 ,9; Rev. 5:10, 20:6). On and on the prophesies went concerning Christ’s eternal Kingdom on Earth.

So when the Lord was incarnated, coming to earth the 1^st time He proclaimed the “kingdom of [from] heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7). What Jesus He mean? He was saying He as the “Messiah” had come, and with that that the time of the long-prophesied earthly kingdom with Jehovah sitting upon David’s throne had finally arrived. It was time for Israel to become God’s “kingdom of priests” … to bless the whole world as the Messiah’s representatives on earth.

In Luke 1, John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, said that the Messiah had come “To give knowledge of salvation unto HIS people [Israel] by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God.” Imagine the reaction among the “little flock” of genuine believers in Israel who had taken John the Baptist’s water baptism of repentance. The news must have spread that the “kingdom was at hand”! Later Jesus said; “Fear not, Little Flock [of Israelite believers]; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, came in the flesh to fulfill ALL the promises God made to the fathers of Israel (cf. Rom. 15:8) about the kingdom to come on Earth. But all Israel needed to receive their Messiah by faith, being baptized of water, Spirit, and fire, to become that “nation of priests” as God had always intended. Then they could bless and teach the whole world about Christ in His kingdom. God’s intention was that the Nation Israel be converted FIRST, only then could they powerfully go to the Gentiles so the whole world would find salvation in Christ. Thus the Lord Jesus said in John 4:22, “Salvation is of [via] the Jews.”

But the ‘Nation Israel’ never was converted, even to this day. So the ‘Nation of Israel’ never did go to the Gentiles as planned just as Jesus’ prophesied in Matt. 1:23, read this prophecy and see.

But God later saved and sent Paul to the Gentiles with ‘the gospel of the grace of God’ (Acts 20:23), which is Entirely Different From Israel’s Program… offering salvation totally apart from Israels Law program.

Romans 6:14b … for ye [Paul’s converts] are NOT under the law, but under grace. (cf. Rom. 11:6)

What all this means is that the Lord Jesus’ words spoken to Israel during His earthly ministry were NOT Meant For The Gentiles. Christ told His 12 Apostles “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 10:5-6)

When a Gentile woman came with her request to the Lord, He first refused to help her and later told her “I am NOT sent but [except] unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel [only]” (Matt. 15:24). The Lord Jesus’ message was TO Israel and FOR Israel because God had promised His people Israel a kingdom on Earth. They would only then be His instruments of blessing to the world.

But, of course, when “the Son of God,” the Prince of Peace came, the nation of Israel, His own people, Rejected Him and Crucified Him. Yet, in Luke 13, we read the parable of the fig tree [Israel] in which we learn that God the Father, who was the husbandman, told Christ to give “the olive tree [Israel]” another “year” to produce fruit.

That is why in the beginning of the Book of Acts, God offers Israel forgiveness and another chance. So at Pentecost, in Acts 3, Peter tells the people of Israel that if they would repent for their sin of murdering their Messiah, God would not only forgive them, but also send Jesus back to them, and give them everything He had promised concerning their earthly kingdom.

Acts 3:11-26 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you…

Yet, we don’t have to look far in the book of Acts to see that the nation Israel as represented by its corrupt religious leaders, would not repent. The nation Israel would not accept God’s offer of forgiveness. They would not accept the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His prophesied Kingdom here on Earth. Rather we see in Acts 4, they had the Apostles arrested, and later arrested again, threatened and beaten.

Finally in Acts 7, Stephen as God’s representative spoke some hard truths to his kinsmen in the flesh… how did they react? They stoned Stephen to death (v58). With Israel’s rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit in Stephen they had rejected their King… this was ‘the unpardonable sin’ (cf. Matt. 12:32). Nobody can reject the witness of the Holy Spirit and become saved. They had rejected their second chance at God’s forgiveness and the opportunity to see the return of their Messiah.

God told Jesus; “Sit thou at my right hand,” but as they stoned Stephen to death, as he looked up and saw ‘Christ Standing’ at the right hand of God, meaning He ready to return in wrath and judgment (Acts 7:55-56). David had written;

Psalm 110:1 “The LORD [Father God] said unto my Lord [Jesus], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

In Part 2 we will see God’s response to Israel’s rejection of His merciful re-offer of forgiveness and the Messiah’s kingdom on earth. We will see if He pours out His judgment upon rebellious Israel in wrath?