Messianic Judaism - The Torah and the Testimony Revealed

Is Israel the Church, or the nation? Or is it Judah and Ephraim reunited?

Is there one covenant for the Jews, and another for the Church; has one covenant replaced the other, or is all the same covenant?

These questions and many more are all answered in this special presentation on, "Who is Israel?".

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Who is Israel, 4-8-05 Edition

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11/18/2008

WHO IS ISRAEL? 1/24/05 Edition

Shalom, welcome to TNT, to the Torah and the Testimony Revealed. Today we are going to answer the question of "Who is Israel?"

Some say that the Church is Israel and has replaced Israel. Others say the Nation of Israel in the Land of Israel is Israel. Still others say that Israel is Judah and Ephraim reunited.

Then revolving around these perceptions are, respectively, the views of some that the first covenant was done away and replaced with a New Covenant. That both covenants are valid, but one is for the Jews, and the other for the Church; or that both the first and last covenants were given to Israel, and for Israel, and that the Church was never given any covenant.

What is the truth of these matters? What is the correct answer? Has Yahuweh indeed done away with His people? Are Jews and Gentiles alike to partake in the same covenant? Did the second covenant, founded upon Yeshua's sacrifice, do away with the Torah (God's Law) of the first? Is there really one standard for Jewish believers in Messiah, and another for Gentile believers in Messiah?

All these questions and more will be addressed and answered in this study entitled, "Who is Israel?".

To begin this study let's begin with the one man who both Jews and Christians claim a common heritage and inheritance with. The man Avraham.

Beginning in B'resheet (Genesis) 12:1-3 we see Avraham being called out of his country. Israel did not exist yet at this time for Avraham's grandson Ya'aqob (Jacob) was not yet born, and the Covenant of Circumcision had not yet been given.

And so Avraham was a Hebrew speaking, uncircumcised Gentile (person of the nations), called out by Yahuweh to be a people separate from those around him. Called out to become the father of a nation.

As it is written in B'resheet (Genesis) 12:1-3,

12:1 Now, Yahuweh had said to Avram, "Get out of your country, from your people, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

12:2 I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So Avram accepts the calling, and left with his wife and with Lot, and with all his servants and possessions and came to the land of Canaan as Yahuweh directed. And in B'resheet (Genesis) 12:17 Yahuweh said to Avram,

12:7 "...to your descendents I will give this land." And there Avram built an altar to Yahuweh who had appeared to him.

So Avram, the Hebrew speaking, uncircumcised Gentile (a person of the nations), has been called out from among other Gentiles (other people of the nations) to be made into a nation of his own; to be a blessing to all the families of the earth; and to ultimately, inherit the land of Canaan, the land of Israel. And Avram built an altar, thus signifying an understanding of "the law" of sacrifices.

This understanding is further revealed in B'resheet (Genesis) 14:18-20 when Avram meets with Melchizadok; does the bread and wine offering with him, and offers up to Melchizadok tithe of all.

As it is written,

14:18 Then Melchizadok, King of Salem, brought out bread and wine, for he was the priest of God Most High.

14:19 And he blessed Avram and said, 'Blessed be Avram of God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth.

14:20 And blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And Avram gave Melchizadok tithe of all.

So Avram, the Hebrew speaking, uncircumcised Gentile (person of the nations) knew how to build altars for sacrifice to Yahuweh. Recognized Melchizadok as a Priest of Yahuweh. Understood about the ceremony of the breaking of bread and drinking of wine (the grain offering and drink offering; which is ultimately the Body and Blood of Messiah), and understood the law of tithing for the priests.

All things traditionally ascribed to Jewish custom and religion, but practiced by Avram, the uncircumcised, Hebrew speaking Gentile (person of the nations).

Where did Avram gain this knowledge?

Most do not realize it, but Shem who lived 100 years prior to the flood, and who lived 500 years after the flood did not die until Avraham was 80 years old.

Shem, which in Hebrew means "name", was the one who was faithful to preserve the name of Yahuweh, and knowledge of the Faith handed down from Adam through Abel, Seth, and Noah; [See also, B'resheet (Genesis) 4:26; 12:8; 13:4 & 21:33 concerning knowledge of the name].

This knowledge of the Name of Yahuweh, and of the Faith was in turn handed down to Avram, Yyob (Job), and Melchizadok who were all contemporaries with each other.

This is how it is that Avram knew how to build an altar, and knew which animals were "clean" and acceptable for sacrifice, knew about the priestly order, about tithing, and everything else about Torah.

As it is written in B'resheet (Genesis) 26:2-5,

26:2 Then Yahuweh appeared to Yitz'chak (Isaac) and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; but dwell in the land as I have told you.

26:3 Live in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Avraham your father.

26:4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

26:5 Because, Avraham obeyed My voice and guarded My hedge, My commandments, My appointed times, and My laws.

As a Gentile (person of the nations), he knew God's commandments. Knew of His appointed times, of the law (the instruction) of sacrifices pointing to the Testimony of Yeshua's Blood; and knew of "the Law" (the instruction) of Torah, defining the way of right and wrong.

And it is because Avraham did these things that Yahuweh passed the Avrahamic Covenant down to his descendants.

In B'resheet (Genesis) 15:13-16 it proceeds to be prophesied and written,

15:13 "...Know certainly that your descendents will be strangers in a land not their own, four hundred years. Your descendents will serve them and be afflicted by them.

15:14 And also the nation who they serve I will judge; and afterwards your descendents will come out with great possessions.

15:15 Now, as for you, you shall return to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

15:16 But in the fourth generation your descendents shall return here, for the rebellion of sin among the Amorites is not yet complete.

So here it is prophesied that his descendents would live in Egypt, and eventually become slaves while there. But that ultimately, in the fourth generation, that they would be delivered out of there.

But what is the Avrahamic covenant? We know that Yahuweh promised Avram that he would be the father of a great nation. This great nation of the Promise, is the nation of Israel.

Yahuweh also promised his descendant's the land of Canaan as an eternal possession, which has not yet come to pass. This land in time would, accordingly, be called the land of Israel, because this is the Land where the nation of Israel would be ultimately established and settled.

Yahuweh also stated that his descendents would be as many as the stars of heaven, which also has not yet come to pass. And that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him; which prophecy has to yet to come to full completion.

Yet the covenant Yahuweh gives, He states clearly to be an eternal covenant; and one that is without revocation.

As it is written in Romans 11:29,

11:29 For the promises and calling of Yahuweh are irrevocable.

As it is also written in B'midbar (B'midbar (Numbers)) 23:19,

23:19 God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. What He has said He will do, and that which He has spoken He will bring to pass.

So what exactly is the Covenant of Avraham coveted so much by both Christians and Jews alike?

Let us proceed to B'resheet (Genesis) 17:1-10

17:1 When Avram was 99 years old, Yahuweh appeared to Avram and said to him, 'I am El Shaddai (God Almighty), walk before Me and be you blameless;

17:2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.'

17:3 Then Avram fell on his face, and God talked with him and said,

17:4 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.'

17:5 'No longer shall your name be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.'

17:6 'I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.'

17:7 'And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations as an eternal covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.'

17:8 'Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.'

17:9 And God said to Avraham, 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.'

17:10 'This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male child among you shall be circumcised.

So the Avrahamic covenant was the covenant of circumcision, and Avraham and his household became the first circumcised Gentiles.

And it was by this covenant that Yahuweh stated that Avraham would now not just be a great nation, but would become a father of many nations.

That this covenant would be eternal, that kings would come from him; and that in addition to this covenant, the previous Promise of the Land of Canaan as an eternal possession would also be incorporated into this covenant.

And so Avraham, the Hebrew speaking, animal sacrificing Gentile (person of the nations) had himself, his sons, and all his servants bought and obtained from other Gentiles (other people of the nations), circumcised.

And as stated in B'resheet (Genesis) 26:5, this covenant was given to Avraham, and to his descendants, because Avraham obeyed Yahuweh's voice, and guarded His hedge, His commandments, His appointed times, and His laws. And he received all these things while yet an uncircumcised, Hebrew speaking Gentile (person of the nations).

All very Jewish sounding, but Judah would not even be born for yet for another three generations. And what was a Jew in Yeshua's day? A descendant of Judah, and/or adherent of the Torah based Faith preserved by the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Now this covenant, complete with its promises, after being passed down to Yitz'chak (Isaac) in B'resheet (Genesis) 26:2-5, was next passed down to Ya'aqob (Jacob), as it is written in B'resheet (Genesis) 35:9-12,

35:9 Then God appeared to Ya'aqob (Jacob) again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.

35:10 And God said to him, 'Your name is Ya'aqob (Jacob); your name shall not be called Ya'aqob (Jacob) anymore, but Israel shall be your name.' So He called his name Israel.

35:11 Also God said to him, 'I am El Shaddai (God Almighty). Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

35:12 The land which I gave Avraham and Yitz'chak (Isaac) I give to you, and to your descendants after you I give this land.'

We can see from the wording of this that it is the same covenant given in B'resheet (Genesis) 17.

It is also important to note that even as Yahuweh stated that Avraham would become a great nation, and the father of many nations; even so, Ya'aqob (Jacob) who is called Israel, is also told that he shall be both a nation and a company of nations.

The nation he becomes is Israel and the 12 tribes it is made up of.

But what is the company of nations that Israel will become, the many nations that Avraham will become the father of?

Well, you'll have to wait till the end of this teaching to find this nugget; but the answer you will find interesting.

For now, let us continue to Shemoth (Exodus) 2:23-25 where it is written,

2:23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the slavery, and they cried out. And their cry came up to God because of their slavery.

2:24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitz'chak (Isaac), and with Ya'aqob (Jacob).

2:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Then in the next verse we see that He brings this remembrance of the covenant to pass beginning with the judgment of Egypt in the fourth generation from the time Israel entered Egypt under Joseph prophesied about in Shemoth (Exodus) 15:14-16, as it is written in Shemoth (Exodus) 6:1-5,

6:1 Then Yahuweh said to Moshe, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.'

6:2 And God spoke to Moshe and said to him, 'I am Yahuweh."

6:3 I appeared to Avraham, to Yitz'chak (Isaac), and to Ya'aqob (Jacob) as El Shaddai, and by My name Yahuweh, was I not known to them?

6:4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers.

6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in slavery, and I have remembered My covenant.

So He delivers Israel out of Egypt specifically in remembrance of the Covenant given to Avraham, Yitz'chak (Isaac), and Ya'aqob (Jacob).

And when He brings them out, Gentiles (people of the nations) come out with them.

As it is written in Shemoth (Exodus) 12:37,38,

12:37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot, besides children.

12:38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds, a great deal of livestock.

Just like Avraham had a mixed multitude of foreign servants and slaves within his household when he entered into the covenant; see B'resheet (Genesis) 17:10-13.

And after Yahuweh brings Israel up out of Egypt, and the mixed multitude of foreigners with them, He states in Shemoth (Exodus) 12:49,

12:49 The same Torah shall apply to both the native born, and to the stranger who lives among you (see also, V'yikra (Leviticus) 24:22 & B'midbar (Numbers) 15:16,29).

So the same Torah is to apply to everyone who enters into the covenant, regardless of whether they are native Israelites, or Gentiles (people of the nations) who have attached themselves to Israel.

In fact, when the Israelites went to Mt. Sinai with the "mixed multitude" to receive the re-introduction of Torah, it states that they all agreed to be bound by all the words of the Covenant.

As it is written in Shemoth (Exodus) 19:5-8,

19:5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is mine.'

19:6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a set-apart (holy) nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

19:7 So Moshe came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which Yahuweh had commanded him.

19:8 Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that Yahuweh has spoken we will do'. So Moshe brought back the words of the people to Yahuweh.

So we see here not only the mixed multitude agreeing to obey the words of the Avrahamic covenant at Mount Sinai, but also see that the laws given within this covenant were to apply to all who were within it, regardless of whether native born Israelite, or grafted in.

From here we can go to Luke 1:67-77 and see that the Promise Seed of Yeshua was also believed to be through this same Avrahamic Covenant, as it is written,

1:67 Now the father of Yahchanan (John), Zechar'yahu (Zacharias), was filled with the Ruach haKadosh (Holy Spirit), and prophesied, saying,

1:68 Blessed is Yahuweh, God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,

1:69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the House of His servant David.

1:70 As He spoke by the mouth of His set-apart (Holy) prophets, who have been since the world began.

1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His Holy covenant,

1:73 The oath which He swore to our father Avraham.

1:74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear.

1:75 In set-apartness (holiness) and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

1:76 And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of Yahuweh to prepare His ways.

1:77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins.

We know also that when Messiah came, it was to be a sacrifice and a Priest after the Order of Melchizadok.

We also know that Avraham entered into this covenant 430 years prior to the establishment of the levitical order of priesthood. And know that when Avraham offered up his tithe to Melchizadok, it was under the Melchizadok order of Priesthood. And that it was under this same Melchizadok order of priesthood 430 years prior to Mt. Sinai that Avraham entered into his covenant.

This correlation between the Covenant of Avraham with the Melchizadok Order of Priesthood will be detailed in our future study entitled, "From Melchizadok to Levi and Back."

Now continuing on to Yahchanan (John) 3:16, we will begin to see that Messiah came for the lost sheep of the House of Israel only.

As it is written,

3:16 And Yahuweh so loved the Land (Israel), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should never perish, but have eternal life.

This makes sense, for the Covenant and Promise to Avraham was centered around what? Around the Land of Israel as an eternal possession of God's people.

And again, in Mattit'yahu (Matthew) 15:24,

15:24 But Yeshua answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

And as Yeshua told His talmidim (disciples) in Mattit'yahu (Matthew) 10:5,6

10:5 ... 'Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans.

10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.'

And in Yahchanan (John) 10:16,

10:16 '...other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one Shepherd.'

How is this possible?

Because it all revolves around one covenant, with one God, one Messiah, and one Torah for all within that covenant, regardless of whether native born or grafted in.

As it is written in I Corinthians 12:2,

12:2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

And in Ephesians 3:11,12,19

3:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh...

3:12 That at that time you were without Messiah, being foreigners to the common wealth of Israel, and strangers to the Promises of the Covenant, having no hope and without Yahuweh in this world.

3:19 Now...you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the blameless ones, and members of the household of Yahuweh.

And so if someone is no longer a stranger or a foreigner; that is, is no longer "a Gentile (person of the nations)", but a fellow citizen and member of the household of Yahuweh, then that makes a person what?

It makes them an Israelite. Grafted in as a wild olive branch into the natural olive tree (see, Romans 11:1-24).

As it is written in Galatians 3:26-29,

3:26 For you are all sons of Yahuweh through faith in Messiah Yeshua.

3:27 For as many of you as were immersed into Messiah have been clothed with Messiah.

3:28 Where there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

3:29 And if you belong to Messiah, then you are a descendent of Avraham, and an heir according to the Promise.

And in the Millennial Kingdom when Yeshua returns to take over the governments of the earth; Revelation 20:4-6, and Israel is given her portion of eternal inheritance in the Promised Land; Yechezk'el (Ezekiel) 47:21-23, those who are grafted in will receive their inheritance with them.

As it is written,

47:21 'In this manner therefore you shall divide this Land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

47:22 It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who live among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native born among the children of Israel. They shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

47:23 And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance', says Yahuweh, Adonai.'

Then after the Millennial Kingdom, after the Great White Throne Judgment occurs and the wicked are permanently removed from the earth, and death and sheol cast into the lake of fire; Revelation 20:7-15, and the new heavens and earth established; Revelation 21:1, the New Jerusalem will come down from the sky as a bride adorned for her husband; Revelation 21:2,3.

This bride, this city, likewise, has 12 gates, one gate for each of the tribes of Israel; but no gate at all for any of the Gentiles; Revelation 21:9-13.

Why? Because the Promises and Covenant were given only to Israel, and for those who attach themselves to Israel.

As it is written in Mattit'yahu (Matthew) 27:37,

27:37 "...Yeshua, King of the Jews"

and as Yeshua stated in Mattit'yahu (Matthew) 15:24,

15:24 "I came only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel."

There are no gates for the Gentiles, for the nations outside of Israel no longer exist. So when it states in Revelation 21:24,

21:24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their splendor and honor into it.

It is speaking about what?

If you recall, Yahuweh told Avraham that he would be the father of many nations, and Ya'aqob (Jacob) who was called Israel, that from him would come a company of nations.

So who are the nations who are saved?

None other than those within the 12 tribes of Israel. For each tribe of Israel in this passage, has now become a nation in and of itself.

And you, if you obey the commandments of Torah, and believe the Testimony of Yeshua as the Son of Yahuweh who died for the remission of Torah violations that are past, then you are Israel.

And as a fellow Israelite I say to you, welcome home mishpochah (family).

Copyright 1/24/05 by the Torah & Testimony Revealed Ministry

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