Preterism and the People of God

Hello RCM! Welcome to the forum. BTW, I am not a full pret... (for the record)

First, where did I ever say the Church replaced Israel? You are reading that in to my post. I am saying the Church is OT Israel and the post resurrection believers together. Here are some verses to ponder:

Your statement here is not clear at all

First you say the Church doesn't replace Israel then you say the Church is OT Israel

Israel is Israel

How could the Church be OT Israel? The Church didn't exist prior to Christ

The Church is a new entity, built upon Christ (Matthew 16:18), birthed in Acts 2

11 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— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

It is important to know that we are no longer aliens to the commonwealth of Israel and We are no longer strangers to the covenants thanks to he blood of Christ.

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Christ made peace between the believers who descend from Jacob and the believers who are gentile. He created one new man from the Jews and the gentiles.

You left off Ephesians 2:18-19, "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household"

Paul is speaking about the 'People of God' those who are of the faith of Abraham,

Galatians 3:6-9, "Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL the nations will be blessed in YOU." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer."

There is unity and diversity, you have to keep the diversity

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and [d]fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, [e]goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you 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, be grafted into their own olive tree?

I think this completes my thought. We gentiles are grafted into the fig tree...

You need to read this and focus on the 'root'

The root makes Israel holy

The root makes the gentiles holy,

Romans 15:7-12, "Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE praise to YOU AMONG the GENTILES, AND I WILL SING to YOUR NAME." Again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE." And again, "PRAISE the LORD all you GENTILES, AND LET ALL the peoples praise HIM." Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT of JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES to rule over the GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES hope."

Again, the Church is not Israel, and Israel is not the Church


You really never explain how gentiles becoming believers doesn't fulfill this passage below. You chose one word and decided to catapult the whole interpretation forward thousands of years. The Elders clearly identified the gentiles joining the ranks of believers as fulfilling this passage.

Acts 15:13-18
13 After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.
14 "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.
15 "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 'AFTER these things I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD the TABERNACLE of DAVID which has fallen, AND I WILL REBUILD its ruins, AND I WILL RESTORE it,
17 SO that the rest of MANKIND may seek the LORD, AND ALL the GENTILES WHO are called by MY NAME,'
18 SAYS the LORD, WHO MAKES these things known from long ago.

Acts 15 is consistent in theology with Ephesians 2, Galatians 3, Romans 11, and Romans 15


BTW, I have no doubt that YHWH has special plans for a future group of Jews...

Question for you;

Is modern day Israel the work of God in fulfilling His OT promises to Jacob and Israel? (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, and etc.)



RCM
 
Your statement here is not clear at all

First you say the Church doesn't replace Israel then you say the Church is OT Israel

Israel is Israel

How could the Church be OT Israel? The Church didn't exist prior to Christ

The Church is a new entity, built upon Christ (Matthew 16:18), birthed in Acts 2

the church is the continuation of the old testament saints. note the word prophets...

9 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,


You left off Ephesians 2:18-19, "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household"

Paul is speaking about the 'People of God' those who are of the faith of Abraham,

Galatians 3:6-9, "Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL the nations will be blessed in YOU." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer."

There is unity and diversity, you have to keep the diversity

don't know how i left that out. it supports my point... We are one people of God.

You need to read this and focus on the 'root'

The root makes Israel holy

The root makes the gentiles holy,

Romans 15:7-12, "Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE praise to YOU AMONG the GENTILES, AND I WILL SING to YOUR NAME." Again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE." And again, "PRAISE the LORD all you GENTILES, AND LET ALL the peoples praise HIM." Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT of JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES to rule over the GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES hope."

Again, the Church is not Israel, and Israel is not the Church

We are one people of God. we are grafted in...


Question for you;

Is modern day Israel the work of God in fulfilling His OT promises to Jacob and Israel? (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, and etc.)
RCM

no... when i thought like you, yes... i would like to say more... the wife wants to leave for church ...
 
So, here is one clear problem for those who oppose Partial Preterism. This Partial Preterist holds to all believers are one people of God. And therefore, most of the arguments by the Dispensational side of the faith fall on deaf ears. They need two peoples of God. They need a modern-day Israel. So, let's discuss who Israel really is...

“‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it," This passage comes from the Jerusalem Council through Luke. They are quoting an Old Testament prophet... And what are they seeing? They are seeing that Gentiles are also a part of the Kingdom of David... They are part of Israel.

What does Paul say about this?

Romans 9:6
New King James Version
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

Paul is discussing election. His point is that not every Jew is called to be Israel. And in the same conversation, Paul extensively describes Gentiles being grafted in...

Israel is all believers from Jacob to present-day Christians...

So, what does this have to do with this forum? The primary nay-sayers are using a false dichotomy when they attack Partial Preterism... They are looking for Revelation to be fulfilled in modern-day Israel... They need a future temple... They need two peoples of God... They need a 2,000 year break between weeks 69 and 70...

They are wrong... And BTW, every major eschatology agrees with me (Ammil's, Post-mil's, and Historical Pre-mil's)... Only the novel, 200 year-old Dispensationalists disagree...
Here is the problem of Preterism.

They teach God broke His promises to the fathers of Israel.

They steal those promises for themselves.

They fail to realize that Christians are PRE-included in those future promises to future national Israel at the return of Christ.

Preterism spirals downward on this error into other false concepts.
 
Here is the problem of Preterism.

They teach God broke His promises to the fathers of Israel.

They steal those promises for themselves.

They fail to realize that Christians are PRE-included in those future promises to future national Israel at the return of Christ.

Preterism spirals downward on this error into other false concepts.

All straw!!! Coming from a worshipper of Israel, I understand...
 
Lot there. I haven't been down that road for years.
Something about a decree to rebuild the temple...and Jesus being cut off???...1 week of time left when God deals with Israel.
Jesus was cut off in the midst of the 70th week of Daniel 9...3.5 years
 
Where is RobyCop??? You have been completely ducking both of my threads... One of which has stood for a year...

Roby, your eschatology dies on who Israel really is!! Your whole eschatology disintegrates into oblivion with the Biblical definition of the "Israel of God"...
He is still searching for the anti christ on another board,lol
 
the church is the continuation of the old testament saints. note the word prophets...

9 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,




don't know how i left that out. it supports my point... We are one people of God.



We are one people of God. we are grafted in...




no... when i thought like you, yes... i would like to say more... the wife wants to leave for church ...


Do you read the OT Prophets with a literal hermeneutic? Especially Hosea, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah?


RCM
 
Yodas_Prodigy said:

Where is RobyCop??? You have been completely ducking both of my threads... One of which has stood for a year...

Roby, your eschatology dies on who Israel really is!! Your whole eschatology disintegrates into oblivion with the Biblical definition of the "Israel of God"...

Please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?


Galatians 6:15-16
15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Romans 9:6
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;


Galatians 3:6-9
6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL the nations will be blessed in YOU."
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Galatians 3:26-29
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.


Romans 11:25-27
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from JACOB."
27 "THIS is MY COVENANT with them, WHEN I TAKE away their sins."


The way you interpret Galatians 6:16 is not consistent with Romans 11:25-27, and Paul is the author of both

Israel is Jacob (Genesis 32:28)

The Church is not Jacob



There are over 172 Biblical Scriptures that declare Israel is Jacob, Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"


In Romans 11:26 Paul uses this same Hebrew parallelism, "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob."


Again, please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?



RCM
 
Do you read the OT Prophets with a literal hermeneutic? Especially Hosea, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah?


RCM
Do you read the OT Prophets with a literal hermeneutic? Especially Hosea, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah?


RCM

Context decides when it should be literal... Here are some examples of no:

God judging Idumea (a past event)

Isaiah 34:4
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

Did this literally happen?

God judging Babylon (a past event)

Isaiah 13
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Israel (a past event)

Amos 8:9
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt (a past event)

Ezekiel 32:7-8
7 When I put out your light,
I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord GOD.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering David from his enemies (A Past Event)

Psalm 18:7-15
New King James Version
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
[a]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering Israel from the Caananites (a past event)

Judges 5:3-5
New King James Version
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
5 The mountains [a]gushed before the LORD,
This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;
The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt

Isaiah 19:1
New King James Version
19 The burden against Egypt.
Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Ninevah (a past event)

Nahum 1:3
New King James Version
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
The LORD has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Did this literally happen?
 
Please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?

Galatians 6:15-16
15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Again, please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?
RCM

In the context of the rest of Galatians, Paul refers to the “ISRAEL OF GOD” as those who walk according to the Spirit—by faith in Jesus Christ (and specifically not by works of the Jewish Old Covenant Law, including circumcision).

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:

“Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.”

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.



Heirs to the promise, the true sons of Abraham, comes from faith in Christ, not physical descent.


6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
 
Context decides when it should be literal... Here are some examples of no:

God judging Idumea (a past event)

Isaiah 34:4
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

Did this literally happen?

God judging Babylon (a past event)

Isaiah 13
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Israel (a past event)

Amos 8:9
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt (a past event)

Ezekiel 32:7-8
7 When I put out your light,
I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord GOD.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering David from his enemies (A Past Event)

Psalm 18:7-15
New King James Version
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
[a]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering Israel from the Caananites (a past event)

Judges 5:3-5
New King James Version
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
5 The mountains [a]gushed before the LORD,
This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;
The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt

Isaiah 19:1
New King James Version
19 The burden against Egypt.
Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Ninevah (a past event)

Nahum 1:3
New King James Version
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
The LORD has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Did this literally happen?
The only thing that was literal was the change of government, or administration, same language in Joel 2:28-32,mt24:29, rev6
 
Please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?


Galatians 6:15-16
15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Romans 9:6
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;


Galatians 3:6-9
6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL the nations will be blessed in YOU."
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Galatians 3:26-29
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.


Romans 11:25-27
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from JACOB."
27 "THIS is MY COVENANT with them, WHEN I TAKE away their sins."


The way you interpret Galatians 6:16 is not consistent with Romans 11:25-27, and Paul is the author of both

Israel is Jacob (Genesis 32:28)

The Church is not Jacob



There are over 172 Biblical Scriptures that declare Israel is Jacob, Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"


In Romans 11:26 Paul uses this same Hebrew parallelism, "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob."


Again, please explain how Paul's use of 'Israel' in Galatians 6:16 refers to the Church?



RCM
A side note. All preterism hinges on the Law being destroyed in the 1st century.

The Law is still in effect for sinners(only) today, debunking preterism at its core.

I can prove it.

They are dead and don't know it.
 
In the context of the rest of Galatians, Paul refers to the “ISRAEL OF GOD” as those who walk according to the Spirit—by faith in Jesus Christ (and specifically not by works of the Jewish Old Covenant Law, including circumcision).

You are completely wrong in your interpretation that the 'Israel of God' refers to the Church

Galatians was written in approx. 48 A.D.

Romans was written in apporx. 57 A.D.

Both were written by Paul, and he is the authority on how 'Israel' should be interpreted


Romans 9:1-5
1 I speak the truth in Christ--I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit--
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.


Romans 9:27
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.

Romans 11:2-5
2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
3 "Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN down YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE am left, AND THEY ARE SEEKING my life."
4 But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN thousand men who HAVE NOT BOWED the knee to BAAL."
5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.


Now, back to Galatians 6:16,

Galatians 6:15-16
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.


We know Paul defines 'Israel' in Romans 9-11, as ethnic Israel, there is no alternative, period!


In Galatians 6:16, Paul is saying peace and mercy to those who are true believers by faith, even to the 'remnant' of Israel


There is a law of first mention that determines how you identify and interpret Biblical Scripture, and as I have previously stated, Israel is Jacob

Israel is Jacob (Genesis 32:28)

The Church is not Jacob

There are over 172 Biblical Scriptures that declare Israel is Jacob, Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"

In Romans 11:26 Paul uses this same Hebrew parallelism, "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob."


To further prove my point, Paul declares that Israel struggles with unbelief and pursues righteousness through the law in Romans 9-11

So does the Church struggle with unbelief and pursue righteousness through the law? Of course not!


It is sloppy exegesis to claim that the Church is Israel, when Biblical Scripture clearly states otherwise


RCM
 
Context decides when it should be literal... Here are some examples of no:

God judging Idumea (a past event)

Isaiah 34:4
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

Did this literally happen?

Isaiah 34 is a past event and has happened?

You would do well to study a little fuller context and understand what you reference


Isaiah 34:1-17
1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
2 For the LORD'S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter.
3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.


Please show me the historical account that this is a past event, you can't, it is a future event yet to take place



4 And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.
5 For My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.
6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones; Thus their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat.
8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.


This is referring to the 'Day of the Lord' and it is yet future


9 Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its princes will be nothing.
13 Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.
14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Yes, the night monster will settle there And will find herself a resting place.
15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind.
16 Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.


Isaiah is comparing God's judgement on the Day of the Lord to God's judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah, when it is over it will be like wilderness that only the wildlife will inhabit



Now, lets turn to Hosea chapter 3,



Hosea 3:1-5
1 Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.
3 Then I said to her, "You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you."
4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.
5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.




What I have emboldened, is yet future, the 70th week of Daniel 9, the time of Jacob's trouble in Jeremiah, the tribulation of the Book of Revelation, the Day of the Lord referenced by all the OT Prophets


Israel is God's wife, He gave her a writ of divorce, but Hosea prophesies that God is going to take her back again, but on His terms

Israel is not the Church!



RCM
 
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Jesus was cut off in the midst of the 70th week of Daniel 9...3.5 years

Can you not read?


Daniel 9:24-27
24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,

Jesus was cut off after the 69th week



and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.


Events that happened in 70 A.D.


27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."


Important points, someone is going to make a covenant with Israel for 7 years, Israel has to be back in the Land, and a Temple has to be in place for there to be offerings that are to be stopped, and for the abomination of desolation to take place that Jesus referred to in Matthew 24 (These are yet future)



RCM
 
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You are completely wrong in your interpretation that the 'Israel of God' refers to the Church

Galatians was written in approx. 48 A.D.

Romans was written in apporx. 57 A.D.

Both were written by Paul, and he is the authority on how 'Israel' should be interpreted


Romans 9:1-5
1 I speak the truth in Christ--I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit--
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.


Romans 9:27
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.

Romans 11:2-5
2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
3 "Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN down YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE am left, AND THEY ARE SEEKING my life."
4 But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN thousand men who HAVE NOT BOWED the knee to BAAL."
5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.


Now, back to Galatians 6:16,

Galatians 6:15-16
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.


We know Paul defines 'Israel' in Romans 9-11, as ethnic Israel, there is no alternative, period!

In Galatians 6:16, Paul is saying peace and mercy to those who are true believers by faith, even to the 'remnant' of Israel


There is a law of first mention that determines how you identify and interpret Biblical Scripture, and as I have previously stated, Israel is Jacob

Israel is Jacob (Genesis 32:28)

The Church is not Jacob

There are over 172 Biblical Scriptures that declare Israel is Jacob, Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"

In Romans 11:26 Paul uses this same Hebrew parallelism, "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER will come from ZION, HE WILL REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob."


To further prove my point, Paul declares that Israel struggles with unbelief and pursues righteousness through the law in Romans 9-11

So does the Church struggle with unbelief and pursue righteousness through the law? Of course not!


It is sloppy exegesis to claim that the Church is Israel, when Biblical Scripture clearly states otherwise


RCM
The present church is included in future Israel's promise to the father's to be fulfilled at the return of Christ and His millennial reign.

This present inclusion into the future promise is only a partial, dark glass inclusion, though.
 
Context decides when it should be literal... Here are some examples of no:

God judging Idumea (a past event)

Isaiah 34:4
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

Did this literally happen?

God judging Babylon (a past event)

Isaiah 13
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Israel (a past event)

Amos 8:9
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt (a past event)

Ezekiel 32:7-8
7 When I put out your light,
I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord GOD.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering David from his enemies (A Past Event)

Psalm 18:7-15
New King James Version
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
[a]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Did this literally happen?

God delivering Israel from the Caananites (a past event)

Judges 5:3-5
New King James Version
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
5 The mountains [a]gushed before the LORD,
This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;
The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Egypt

Isaiah 19:1
New King James Version
19 The burden against Egypt.
Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

Did this literally happen?

The Lord judging Ninevah (a past event)

Nahum 1:3
New King James Version
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
The LORD has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Did this literally happen?

If you have been influenced by someone like Hank Hanegraaff, you need to realize his Biblical theology is not consistent

Hanegraaff cannot address Paul's use of Israel in the NT in a consistent coherent manner

Hanegraaf has an antagonistic animosity towards the Nation Israel back in the land because it destroys his eschatology with the passing of each day's events as OT prophecy continues to unfold



RCM
 
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