For the reader who has a church background which taught that Israel is spiritualized in the New Testament, the following compilation of New Testament Scriptures is included to further demonstrate that God is still working with physical Israel today.*
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*Many Old Testament Scriptures also establish this same fact - Genesis 17:1-7; 2 Samuel 7:23-24; 2 Chronicles 17:22-24; Isaiah 45:17; Jeremiah 31:31--37, etc.
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Matthew
... she [Mary] will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people [Israel] from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
... you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler [Yeshua], who will shepherd My people Israel. (Matthew 2:6)
... rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6)
"...you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man [Yeshua] comes." (Matthew 10:23)
... He [Yeshua] answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel [Isa. 59:20]." (Matthew 15:24)
... they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)
... the Son of Man [Yeshua] has come to save that which was lost [the lost sheep of the house of Israel - Matt. 10:6; 15:24; Lk. 19:9-10]. (Matthew 18:11)
"...Truly I [Yeshua] say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matthew 19:28)
"He [Yeshua] is the King of Israel." (Matthew 27:42)
Mark
"...this Christ, the King of Israel." (Mark 15:32)
Luke
... he [John the Baptist] will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. (Luke 1:16)
... He [Yeshua] will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1:33)
He [YHWH] has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and his offspring forever [Heb. 2:161. (Luke 1:54-55)
Blessed be [YHWH] the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people [Isa. 59:20]. (Luke 1:68)
To show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He [YHWH] swore to Abraham our father. (Luke 1:72-73)
To give to His people [Israel] the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins [Isa. 59:20]. (Luke 1:77)
... there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ... looking for the consolation of Israel. (Luke 2:25)
"...and the glory of Thy people Israel." (Luke 2:32)
... Simeon blessed them [Joseph and Mary], and said ... "Behold, this child [Yeshua] is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel." (Luke 2:34)
...they began glorifying God saying, "A great prophet [Yeshua] has arisen among us!" and, "God [YHWH] has visited His people [Israel]!" (Luke 7:16)
... this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day [contrast this statement with the one made to the non-Israelite woman in Matt. 15:21-26]? (Luke 13:16)
... Jesus said to him [Zaccheus], "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man [Yeshua] has come to seek and to save that which was lost [the lost sheep of the house of Israel - Matt. 15:24; 18: 11]." (Luke 19:9-10)
"... in My kingdom ... you [the twelve Apostles] will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:30)
... we [the two men on the road to Emmaus with Yeshua after His resurrection] were hoping that it was He [Yeshua] who was going to redeem Israel [Isa. 59:20]. (Luke 24:21)
John
"...in order that He [Yeshua] might be manifested to Israel, I [John the Baptist] came baptizing in water." (John 1:31)
Nathanael answered Him [Yeshua], "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." (John 1:49)
The Jews therefore said to one another, "Where does this man [Yeshua] intend to go that we shall not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion ["Israelite resident(s) in Gentile countries," which is the same Greek noun found in Jas. 1:11] among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks ["Greeks" is used interchangeably with "the dispersion"], is He?" (John 7:35)
I am the good shepherd; and I know My own [sheep], and My own know me [Jn. 10:27; Jer. 24:71], even as the Father [YHWH] knows Me and I know the Father; and I [Yeshua] lay down My life for the sheep [the house of Judah]. And I have other sheep [the scattered house of Israel], which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they [the two houses or flocks] shall become one flock [Israelites were the only people identified as sheep in the Bible - Ezek. 34:11-13, 23-24, 30-31; Matt. 15:24; etc.] with one shepherd [Ezek. 37:15-23; Mic. 2:12-13; 5:2-5; Hos. 1:11; Jn. 11:50-52]. (John 10:14-16)
"...it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."... he [Caiaphas] prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation [the house of Judah — "Jews"]; and not for the nation only, but that He might also gather [Isa. 49:56; Jer. 31:10-11] into one the [Israelite] children of God who are scattered abroad [the divorced house of Israel dispersed among the Gentiles - Deut. 28:15, 63-65; Ezek. 34:5-6, 11-16, 23-24, 29-31; 37:15-23; Hos. 1: 11; Mic. 2:12-13; Jn. 10:14-16]. (John 11:50-52)
..."Hosanna! Blessed is He [Yeshua] who comes in the name of YHWH, even the King of Israel." (John 12:13)
Fear not, daughter of Zion [Israel]; behold, your King [Yeshua] comes sitting on a donkey's colt. (John 12:15)
If, while trying to prove that God is still working with physical Israel today, we were limited to only the passages previously cited, then we would not have much of a case because someone would surely counter with the fact that all of those passages are relative to a period of time prior to the beginning of the New Covenant. However, we are not restricted to those passages found in the Gospels under the Old Covenant; we have a much greater array of testimony found throughout the book of Acts, the epistles, and the book of Revelation under the New Covenant.
Acts
... they [the eleven apostles] were asking Him [Yeshua] saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6)
Therefore let all the house of Israel ["house of Israel" is used specifically and most often in reference to the ten northern tribes, but is sometimes used generally to mean all twelve tribes of Israel as in this passage - Acts 7:38-41; Heb. 8:10; Ezek. 37:11-17] know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus ... for the promise [Rom. 9:4; Acts 13:23-24, 32-33; 26:6-7] is for you and your children [the house of Judah - "Jews"], and for all who are far off [the house of Israel dispersed among the Gentiles - Jer. 31:10; 46:27; Jn. 10:14-16; 11:50-52] as many [the remnant out of all Israel] as the Lord our God shall call to Himself [Rom. 9:241. (Acts 2:36-39)
He [Yeshua] is the One whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31)
The word which He [YHWH] sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ [Mic. 5:2-5].... (Acts 10:36)
... [the Apostle] Paul ... said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers...." (Acts 13:16-17)
From the offspring of this man [David], according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. (Acts 13:23-24)
... we [disciples of Yeshua] preach to you [Judahite Israelites] the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus. (Acts 13:32-33)
Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among ["out of"- KJV] the Gentiles a people for His name [Israel]. ...the prophets agree, just as it is written, "After these things ... I will rebuild the tabernacle of David [the house of Judah] which is fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, in order that the rest ["rest" may also be translated "remainder" - Mic. 5:2-4] of mankind may seek YHWH, and ["and" may also be translated "even" - The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament or any Greek lexicon] all the Gentiles who are called by my name [the implication here being that there are Gentiles who are called by God's name, and there are Gentiles who are not called by God's name; the only people ever called by God's name, "Israel - ruling with EI(ohiym)," were Israelites Deut. 27:9; 28:9-10; 1 Kings 8:41-43; 2 Chron. 6:32-33; Jer. 14:9; Dan. 9:19; Isa. 63:19]." ..."Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not trouble those [Israelites] who are turning to God from among the Gentiles [Ezek. 37:21 - KJV]." (Acts 15:14-19)
... I [the Apostle Paul] am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain. (Acts 26:6-7)
I [the Apostle Paul] am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel. (Acts 28:20)
Romans
What then shall we [the Apostle Paul and those to whom he wrote - Rom. 1: 13] say that Abraham our forefather according to the flesh has found? (Romans 4:1)
... who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory [Rom. 9:23-24] and the covenants [Abrahamic, Mosaic and Christian - Jer. 31:31] and the giving of the law [Deut. 33:4; Ps. 78:5-7; 147:19-20; Heb. 8:8-10] and the temple services and the promises [Acts 2:36-39; 13:23-24, 32-33; 26:6-7], whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh. (Romans 9:3-5)
... even us [Israelites], whom He [YHWH] also called [made a New Covenant with], not from among Jews [the house of Judah] only, but also from among Gentiles [the house of Israel - Hos. 1 and 21]. As He says also in Hosea, "I will call those [the house of Israel] who were not My people, 'My people,' and her [the house of Israel] who was not beloved, 'Beloved.' And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they [the house of Israel] shall be called sons of the living God." (Romans 9:23-26)
... [The Prophet] Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant [out of all Israel - Rom. 11:26] that will be saved." (Romans 9:27)
... God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I [the Apostle Paul] too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people [Israel] whom He foreknew [Rom. 8:29-30; Amos 3:1-2 -KJV]. (Romans 11:1-2)
...I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery ... that a partial hardening has happened to Israel [here the Apostle Paul is referring to the house of Judah only — after the house of Israel was divorced by God, only the house of Judah was known as or called "Israel"] until the fullness of the Gentiles [the house of Israel as defined in Romans 9:23-26] has come in; and thus all Israel [a remnant of both the house of Judah and the house of Israel — Rom. 9:27; 11:5] will be saved [Heb. 8:8] just as it is written, "Me deliverer [Yeshua] will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:25-26)
1 Corinthians
... I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers [Paul's physical ancestors along with those to whom he wrote] were all under a cloud, and all passed through the [Red] sea ... [only Israelites can make that claim — Ex. 13:21; 14:22, 29]. (1 Corinthians 10:1- 10)
You know that when you [the house of Israel — 1 Cor. 10:1-10] were [past tense] pagans [in this instance the Greek word "ethnos" is translated "pagans" - these people were Israelites who had become Gentiles (pagans without YHWH), and who then became Christians — Hos. 1:10], you were led astray to the dumb idols [Deut. 28:15, 63-65; Ezek. 37:21-23]. (1 Corinthians 12:2)
Galations
... those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God [the remnant from both houses of Israel saved through Yeshua the Christ — Rom. 9:27; 11:25-26]. (Galatians 6:16)
Ephesians
...remember that you [Gentiles — the house of Israel] were at that time separate from [the] Christ, excluded from ["to be rendered an alien ..." used of the Israelites in the Sept. (Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) cf. Ezek. 14:5,"2 "having been alienated from,"3 applicable only to the house of Israel] the commonwealth [also rendered "community" or "citizenship" — Zech. 11:14; Ezek. 14:5-8] of Israel ... without God in the world [2 Chron. 15:3; Hos. 1:91. But now in [the] Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off [this properly identifies the house of Israel who had been divorced by God and sent afar off — Matt. 15:24; Jn. 10:14-16; 11:50-52; Acts 2:36-391 have been brought near by the blood of [the] Christ. For He Himself is our peace [Yeshua was the means of once again bringing peace between the two houses of Judah and Israel in fulfillment of Mic. 5:2-5], who made both groups into one [in fulfillment of Ezek. 37:15-23 and Hos. 1:2-11]. ...that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace [in fulfillment of Ezek. 37:26], and might reconcile ["to reconcile back again, bring back to former state of harmony,"4 which, consequently, cannot apply to non-Israelite Gentiles since they, never having been in harmony with God, cannot be reconciled back again] them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity [the house of Judah and the house of Israel had been warring and at odds with each other since their nation was divided]. (Ephesians 2:12-165)
Hebrews
... assuredly He [YHWH] does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the seed of Abraham [Abraham's physical descendants — Lk. 1:54-55]. (Hebrews 2:16)
"...I [YHWH] will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel [the ten northern tribes] and with the house of Judah [the two southern tribes]; not like the [Mosaic] covenant which I made with their fathers [physical ancestors] on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel [all twelve tribes]...." (Hebrews 8:8-10)
James
James, a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad ["in the dispersion,"6 "Israelite resident(s) in Gentile countries"7]. (James 1:1)
1 Peter
[The Apostle] Peter ... to those [Israelites] who reside as aliens, scattered ["sojourners of the dispersion,"8 "Israelite resident(s) in Gentile countries,"9 which is the same Greek noun as found in Jas. 1: 11 throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia [the very areas to which the house of Israel had been dispersed, and in fulfillment of 1 Kings 14:15 — see map] who are chosen [the remnant saved by Yeshua the Christ]. (1 Peter 1:1)
...YOU [Christian Israelites from the dispersion — 1 Peter 1: 1-31 are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession [Ex. 19:5-6; Deut. 14:2], that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Isa. 43:1, 10, 21; 44:23] who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people [YHWH divorced the house of Israel and they lost their identity as Israel — "ruling with El(ohiym)"], but now you are the people of God [made possible through redemption in Yeshua the Christ]; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy [forgiveness of your sins — Hos. 1: 10; 2:23; Mic. 7:18]. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
She who is in Babylon [only the house of Judah had been in captivity in Babylon] chosen together with you [the house of Israel — 2 Jn. 1, 4, 13].... (1 Peter 5:13)
2 John
The elder [John] to the chosen lady [the house of Israel].... I was very glad to find some of your children [the saved remnant] walking in truth.... The children [the saved remnant] of your chosen sister [the house of Judah — Jer. 3:8; Ezek. 23: 1ff.] greet you. (2 John 1, 4, 13)
Revelation
"...until we have sealed the bondservants of our God ..... And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel...." (Revelation 7:3-8)
... showed me the holy city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.... It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them [the gates] which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel [Rev. 22:14]. (Revelation 21:10-12)
When the previous passages with their cross references are carefully read, it is quite apparent that those who spiritualize Israel in the New Testament have overlooked something of utmost importance: God had and still has a special plan for His people Israel, whoever they may be.
1. James Strong, "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), p. 23.
2. William Edwy Vine, "Alienate," Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company), p. 47.
3. Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), p. 762.
4. Pastor Joseph Henry Thayer, D.D., The New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979), p. 6.
5. For an explanation of Ephesians 2:12-16, listen to the audio series Objections of a Modern-Day Preacher.
7. James Strong, "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," Strong's Exhaustie Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1990), p. 23.
9. Strong, "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," p. 23.