Jesus Creed » Israel’s privilege
Just a quick personal reflection here. I am thankful that Scot McKnight is publishing some material from N.T. Wright on Romans 9-11. I’ve enjoyed the brief notes. The comment thread has been interesting also. I am currently preaching in the book of Romans and just this morning finished reading, in my quiet time, Romans 11. There remains no doubt in my mind that a divine plan for the salvation of a political, national Israel (not merely a spiritualized Israel subsumed by the church) is yet to come.
Having said that, I don’t necessarily think that the current nation of Israel in its present state is the nation that will inherit the promises. They are a very secular nation and have no inclination to embrace Jesus as the Messiah – much like Paul describes in Romans 9-11. Yet, I don’t think it is inconsequential either that the nation of Israel exists and the conflict is what it is and for the reasons that conflict exists.
Who knows what the future may hold for the present nation of Israel or the entire Middle Eastern political make-up. I still consider myself to be dispensational in my understanding of Israel and the church. Yet, I don’t subscribe to the notion that we should financially and militarily support Israel because the land belongs to them biblically. Actually, from what I read in Jeremiah 31 (the whole chapter), Israel has no right to the land until their heart is right. My interpretation of the Bible leads me to conclude that their heart will not belong exclusively to the Lord until his parousia.
Just a thought.
