In addition to the rapture, another particular "end-times" understanding of the "script" sits outside the realm of the pages of Revelation. It involves the nation-state of Israel and the Christian-Zionist belief that the modern state of Israel is fulfillment of God's promises to the Israelites in Ezekiel 36.
It is extremely important that we answer and understand this question, because the answer has massive world-wide repercussions and dictates not only American foreign policy, but how the Middle East as a whole is understood by Christians. It has become a life and death issue in our world. Many Christians are using their interpretation of Revelation to sway politics and foreign policy. In an already volatile Middle East, Biblical interpretation regarding the return of the Messiah is sparking one of the most dangerous debates and battles for land in the regions of Israel and Palestine. Certain segments of Christians who believe that the temple must be rebuilt and that the “nation of Israel” must reclaim all the land in order for Christ to return are not only provoking more violence and bloodshed in this region, but are ignoring their fellow Christian brothers and sisters that live in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Once a thriving community of Christians, our Christian brothers and sisters have dwindled over the past several decades from 25% to a meager 2% of the population in Palestinian territories, but those who remain are being uprooted and caught in the middle of this violence as well. The Christians in Palestine are caught between two different kinds of persecution. The Muslim majority in Palestine will not allow them to have jobs there, and the Jewish majority in Israel will not allow them jobs in Israel either. Yet the plight of our fellow Christians is seemingly forgotten by the vast majority of Christians who follow this dispensationalist system. However, Christians are the very ones who are in need of the words of hope Revelation inspires for those persecuted for their faith.
"All of Israel"
Let's start with who "all of Israel" means. The statement itself is confusing because elsewhere in scripture, God declares only a remnant will be saved (Isaiah 10). Paul picks up on this statement as well in his letter to the Romans, chapters 9-11. So which is it? A remnant, or all of Israel? Many current end-times theologies interpret this statement to mean God has a separate and special plan for the Jews, citing Paul's discourse regarding why so many Jews have "stumbled" and not accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
The problems inherent in interpreting this passage in this way is that it totally negates the previous eight chapters of Romans, where Paul has been arguing that it is through "faith alone" that one is saved, not by heritage.
Paul spends a lot of time telling the Jews not to boast about being Jews, because they can be cut off just like the Gentiles had been cut off for so long. Then he admonishes the Gentiles, telling them not to think that just because many Jews have rejected Jesus that they are somehow "superior" to the Jews - because it was through the Jews that God's Messiah and plan for salvation came about to begin with.
Neither should boast, because they are all included by the same thing: faith. So why then a few chapters later does Paul make the statement, "So then, all Israel will be saved"?
"Jews" vs. "Israel"
While it would take too much space to go into all the different uses and meanings of "Jew," suffice it to say, the term "Jew" in both today's context and the Biblical context can refer to several different groups of people. Briefly, there are Rabbinic Jews, second temple Jews, ethnic Jews, secular Jews, and then John's "Jews" who represented the religious leadership that rejected Jesus.
To complicate matters further, the term Israel is a much broader term than just "Jew." While it was with "Israel" that God made his covenant, elsewhere in the bible "Israel" is referred to as the Northern Kingdom as opposed to "Judah," the Southern Kingdom (where the term "Jew" originates).
After the ninth chapter of Romans, Paul ceases to use the term "Jew" and uses only the term "Israel," and earlier makes the statement that while all Jews are Israelites (according to the flesh) not all Israelites are Jews (according to the flesh). Case in point, the Samaritans, considered "unclean" by the "Jews" were technically Israelites as they were the remaining remnant left over from the Northern Tribes that were defeated by the Assyrians. Yet, when modern Christian Zionists speak of "Israel," they do not consider the some one thousand Samaritans that still reside in the Holy Land as a part of "Israel" despite the fact that Jesus made it clear in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, his healing of a Samaritan who returned to praise God, and his parable regarding the Good Samaritan, that the Samaritans, though enemies of the Jews, were being reclaimed by God as part of His people. A remnant of Israel, they make up part of "all Israel."
Thus, when Paul shifts his language and refrains from saying "Jew" and talks about "Israel," this seems significant. Paul sets about redefining what he means by "Jew" by stating one is only a "true Jew" if they are a Jew inwardly (2:28-29), and states that to be a descendant of Abraham is far more encompassing than just "the Jews" - as Abraham was the father of many nations, including many "Gentile" nations through Hagar and his second wife, Keturah (4:16-18).
Additionally, Paul makes it clear in other letters (Galatians 3) that one is a descendant of Abraham's through faith, not heritage. To clarify further what is meant by "Israel," Paul states in Romans 9 that not all Israelites belong to Israel and not all of Abraham's children are his true descendants.
Therefore, it seems odd that Paul would make the statement in chapter 9 that only a remnant of Israel will be saved, but then says "all Israel" will be saved two chapters later. The first key is understanding that the context is Paul is admonishing the Gentiles not to think they are wiser than they are, because he believed that God rejoices when Jews come to faith in Christ. The Messiah is not the Messiah for only Gentiles, but for Jews first, then Gentiles.
Second, the real crux of the statement "so all Israel" will be saved winds up being a translational issue. In the Greek, the word "so" (kai outws) is usually translated as simply "so" in the NIV, NRSV and KJV versions of the Bible. Yet, this term also means "in this way."
Many interpret the "so" to be a temporal "when" all Israel will be saved--once all the Gentiles have been brought in. However, "in this way" denotes the manner through which God is saving "all Israel" - through a hardening on a part of the unbelieving Jews so that Gentiles may be brought in, and it is in this way that "all Israel" - both Jew and Gentile - will be saved, because both are heirs through faith.
As he quotes in Romans 10:12, "Everyone who calls on the Lord shall be saved." This makes his comment regarding "on account of the patriarchs" make more sense - God is not writing them off. He loves them and desires them to come to faith.
Paul's "Mystery"
Paul states that he wants people to understand "this mystery." He talks about this same "mystery" in Ephesians 3 and Colossians 2. In those instances, the great "mystery" is that Gentiles have become "fellow heirs" through faith in Christ. Indeed, God elected the Jews to be the line through which his Messiah would come, and in that regard, they are beloved by God, his holy people, and why God desires they turn to him in faith.
God therefore is saving Jew and Gentile not by two different tracks, but in the way that he promised throughout all of the Old Testament. The Messiah of the Gentiles was first, and foremost, the Messiah promised to "Israel." Any Jew can still be grafted back in as though they had never been cut off if they do not remain in unbelief. After all, Paul himself was a Jew, so there were definitely Jews among those who believed.
Yet, Paul is also points out "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy." Thus it is not for society, but only for God, to determine the fate of everyone on this planet and thus worshipers should take a lesson from first century Gentile friends and take Paul's words to heart - don't boast about what one has received.
Have thousands of years worth of Christians simply misunderstood God's promises - that they weren't really for them, but were for a nation-state that would be established in 1948? If so, this misunderstanding extends to many of the authors of the New Testament, who wrote after the fall of Jerusalem, and spoke of their expectation that Jesus would return at any time with no stipulation that a Jewish nation-state must first be re-established. In fact, most Christians saw the destruction of Jerusalem as God moving beyond the confines of Judaism and Jerusalem, spreading across the world - just as Jesus told the Samaritan woman it would and just as he told his disciples it would before his ascension. While he was here, Jesus warned of Jerusalem's destruction with no hint that it would need to be rebuilt before his return. In fact, when he spoke of the Temple destruction, he pointed to Himself as the rebuilding of the Temple - He was the Temple (John 2). His spirit would now reside inside people, not a structure. "For do you not know your body is a temple of the holy spirit?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) (I will write more regarding the Temple issue in another posting)
Ezekiel's River & The River of Life
When one reads through Revelation, they easily pick up on the fact that while John picks up on a multitude of Old Testament promises, he never quotes them exactly. The promises of the Old Testament for John take on new twists and extend beyond its original understanding. In Ezekiel 47, there is a river described streaming from the Temple of God, and on either side of it are trees that provide healing for Israel.
In Revelation's vision, the River of Life flows from the throne of God and the trees on either side provide healing for ALL nations, not just Israel. Revelation takes the Old Testament promise and makes it bigger and grander than it was originally.
John continues to take these Old Testament promises and applies them to the vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The opening chapter of Revelation 21 is like a "who's who" of prophetic promises.
Revelation 21:1 - "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."
“‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children."The question Christians must ask upon reading such passages, is to whom is God referring? How do we, as Christians, followers of God's promised Messiah, understand the promises made to "Israel"? What are these promises and who are they being made to ultimately?
It is extremely important that we answer and understand this question, because the answer has massive world-wide repercussions and dictates not only American foreign policy, but how the Middle East as a whole is understood by Christians. It has become a life and death issue in our world. Many Christians are using their interpretation of Revelation to sway politics and foreign policy. In an already volatile Middle East, Biblical interpretation regarding the return of the Messiah is sparking one of the most dangerous debates and battles for land in the regions of Israel and Palestine. Certain segments of Christians who believe that the temple must be rebuilt and that the “nation of Israel” must reclaim all the land in order for Christ to return are not only provoking more violence and bloodshed in this region, but are ignoring their fellow Christian brothers and sisters that live in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Once a thriving community of Christians, our Christian brothers and sisters have dwindled over the past several decades from 25% to a meager 2% of the population in Palestinian territories, but those who remain are being uprooted and caught in the middle of this violence as well. The Christians in Palestine are caught between two different kinds of persecution. The Muslim majority in Palestine will not allow them to have jobs there, and the Jewish majority in Israel will not allow them jobs in Israel either. Yet the plight of our fellow Christians is seemingly forgotten by the vast majority of Christians who follow this dispensationalist system. However, Christians are the very ones who are in need of the words of hope Revelation inspires for those persecuted for their faith.
"All of Israel"
Let's start with who "all of Israel" means. The statement itself is confusing because elsewhere in scripture, God declares only a remnant will be saved (Isaiah 10). Paul picks up on this statement as well in his letter to the Romans, chapters 9-11. So which is it? A remnant, or all of Israel? Many current end-times theologies interpret this statement to mean God has a separate and special plan for the Jews, citing Paul's discourse regarding why so many Jews have "stumbled" and not accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
The problems inherent in interpreting this passage in this way is that it totally negates the previous eight chapters of Romans, where Paul has been arguing that it is through "faith alone" that one is saved, not by heritage.
Paul spends a lot of time telling the Jews not to boast about being Jews, because they can be cut off just like the Gentiles had been cut off for so long. Then he admonishes the Gentiles, telling them not to think that just because many Jews have rejected Jesus that they are somehow "superior" to the Jews - because it was through the Jews that God's Messiah and plan for salvation came about to begin with.
Neither should boast, because they are all included by the same thing: faith. So why then a few chapters later does Paul make the statement, "So then, all Israel will be saved"?
"Jews" vs. "Israel"
While it would take too much space to go into all the different uses and meanings of "Jew," suffice it to say, the term "Jew" in both today's context and the Biblical context can refer to several different groups of people. Briefly, there are Rabbinic Jews, second temple Jews, ethnic Jews, secular Jews, and then John's "Jews" who represented the religious leadership that rejected Jesus.
To complicate matters further, the term Israel is a much broader term than just "Jew." While it was with "Israel" that God made his covenant, elsewhere in the bible "Israel" is referred to as the Northern Kingdom as opposed to "Judah," the Southern Kingdom (where the term "Jew" originates).
After the ninth chapter of Romans, Paul ceases to use the term "Jew" and uses only the term "Israel," and earlier makes the statement that while all Jews are Israelites (according to the flesh) not all Israelites are Jews (according to the flesh). Case in point, the Samaritans, considered "unclean" by the "Jews" were technically Israelites as they were the remaining remnant left over from the Northern Tribes that were defeated by the Assyrians. Yet, when modern Christian Zionists speak of "Israel," they do not consider the some one thousand Samaritans that still reside in the Holy Land as a part of "Israel" despite the fact that Jesus made it clear in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, his healing of a Samaritan who returned to praise God, and his parable regarding the Good Samaritan, that the Samaritans, though enemies of the Jews, were being reclaimed by God as part of His people. A remnant of Israel, they make up part of "all Israel."
Thus, when Paul shifts his language and refrains from saying "Jew" and talks about "Israel," this seems significant. Paul sets about redefining what he means by "Jew" by stating one is only a "true Jew" if they are a Jew inwardly (2:28-29), and states that to be a descendant of Abraham is far more encompassing than just "the Jews" - as Abraham was the father of many nations, including many "Gentile" nations through Hagar and his second wife, Keturah (4:16-18).
Additionally, Paul makes it clear in other letters (Galatians 3) that one is a descendant of Abraham's through faith, not heritage. To clarify further what is meant by "Israel," Paul states in Romans 9 that not all Israelites belong to Israel and not all of Abraham's children are his true descendants.
Therefore, it seems odd that Paul would make the statement in chapter 9 that only a remnant of Israel will be saved, but then says "all Israel" will be saved two chapters later. The first key is understanding that the context is Paul is admonishing the Gentiles not to think they are wiser than they are, because he believed that God rejoices when Jews come to faith in Christ. The Messiah is not the Messiah for only Gentiles, but for Jews first, then Gentiles.
Second, the real crux of the statement "so all Israel" will be saved winds up being a translational issue. In the Greek, the word "so" (kai outws) is usually translated as simply "so" in the NIV, NRSV and KJV versions of the Bible. Yet, this term also means "in this way."
Many interpret the "so" to be a temporal "when" all Israel will be saved--once all the Gentiles have been brought in. However, "in this way" denotes the manner through which God is saving "all Israel" - through a hardening on a part of the unbelieving Jews so that Gentiles may be brought in, and it is in this way that "all Israel" - both Jew and Gentile - will be saved, because both are heirs through faith.
As he quotes in Romans 10:12, "Everyone who calls on the Lord shall be saved." This makes his comment regarding "on account of the patriarchs" make more sense - God is not writing them off. He loves them and desires them to come to faith.
Paul's "Mystery"
Paul states that he wants people to understand "this mystery." He talks about this same "mystery" in Ephesians 3 and Colossians 2. In those instances, the great "mystery" is that Gentiles have become "fellow heirs" through faith in Christ. Indeed, God elected the Jews to be the line through which his Messiah would come, and in that regard, they are beloved by God, his holy people, and why God desires they turn to him in faith.
God therefore is saving Jew and Gentile not by two different tracks, but in the way that he promised throughout all of the Old Testament. The Messiah of the Gentiles was first, and foremost, the Messiah promised to "Israel." Any Jew can still be grafted back in as though they had never been cut off if they do not remain in unbelief. After all, Paul himself was a Jew, so there were definitely Jews among those who believed.
Yet, Paul is also points out "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy." Thus it is not for society, but only for God, to determine the fate of everyone on this planet and thus worshipers should take a lesson from first century Gentile friends and take Paul's words to heart - don't boast about what one has received.
The Promised Land and Israel
As we've looked at Revelation, we've come to understand something about God. God's promises are never not fulfilled - but - they are many times fulfilled differently than expected, and in most cases above and beyond that expectation. Ezekiel makes promises about Israel's restoration. But this restoration speaks of a day that claims when they return, it will be with a new heart and they will be cleansed, sprinkled clean and "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." He makes this promise in both Ezekiel 36 & 37.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. (Ez. 36:26-27)
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23)
This is not the only place God makes such a promise. Jeremiah 31:33 states, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you." Jeremiah finishes that verse by stating, "I will be your God, and you will be my people." Revelation picks up that same promise in Revelation 21. "“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them."
One of the cornerstones of Christian teaching is the understanding that this "new heart" and this "cleansing" comes through the cleansing blood of Christ. The "Promised Land" of God's New Heaven and New Earth aligns with a multitude of Old Testament promises of gathering His people back to Himself.
Clearly, John envisioned the promises of Ezekiel and Jeremiah as promises made to the entire breadth of God's people. Furthermore, the founding of modern Israel has not "cleansed' them or created some event that has restored their good fortune. The land has not returned to becoming like "the garden of Eden" as promised in Ezekiel 36:35. Nor has the resurrection occurred in Ezekiel 37, that his servant David will reign over them. The restoration of Israel clearly also ushers in the time of the Messianic reign.
When comparing the founding of modern Israel with the passages of Ezekiel 36 and 37, the parallel falls woefully short. No cleansing, no King, no long lives, no healing. Ezekiel 37 also claims that the Northern Tribes of Ephraim will be joined back together with the Southern Tribes of Judah to form one nation. The Northern Tribes have long disappeared - scattered and assimilated into their surrounding cultures, destroyed by the Assyrians, never to return. The modern nation state of Israel continues to define itself as "Jewish," the descendants of Judah, the southern kingdom which was dispersed by the Babylonians, brought back, then dispersed again by the Romans. These Jews, an incomplete representation of "all Israel" has formed its own state, but Israel has hardly been restored to its fullness.
Yet, when Ezekiel's vision is compared and contrasted with John's view of the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven, we see all these promises being brought to fruition.
Clearly, John envisioned the promises of Ezekiel and Jeremiah as promises made to the entire breadth of God's people. Furthermore, the founding of modern Israel has not "cleansed' them or created some event that has restored their good fortune. The land has not returned to becoming like "the garden of Eden" as promised in Ezekiel 36:35. Nor has the resurrection occurred in Ezekiel 37, that his servant David will reign over them. The restoration of Israel clearly also ushers in the time of the Messianic reign.
When comparing the founding of modern Israel with the passages of Ezekiel 36 and 37, the parallel falls woefully short. No cleansing, no King, no long lives, no healing. Ezekiel 37 also claims that the Northern Tribes of Ephraim will be joined back together with the Southern Tribes of Judah to form one nation. The Northern Tribes have long disappeared - scattered and assimilated into their surrounding cultures, destroyed by the Assyrians, never to return. The modern nation state of Israel continues to define itself as "Jewish," the descendants of Judah, the southern kingdom which was dispersed by the Babylonians, brought back, then dispersed again by the Romans. These Jews, an incomplete representation of "all Israel" has formed its own state, but Israel has hardly been restored to its fullness.
Yet, when Ezekiel's vision is compared and contrasted with John's view of the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven, we see all these promises being brought to fruition.
Therefore, a militant, violent vision of Jerusalem triumphing stands in stark contrast to the ultimate vision God has for Jerusalem throughout the Old Testament and at the end of Revelation. Jerusalem is a city that the prophets state all nations will one day stream to. Rather than destruction of the nations, all nations will turn to Jerusalem. and revere God. Revelation claims that its open gates welcome the nations so that they may be healed by the leaves of the Tree of Life. This picks up on Isaiah 2's promises of the Mountain of God:
In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
As it stands now, rather than nations streaming to Israel and God's Holy Mountain for instruction, modern Israel builds walls and checkpoints, limiting people access and denying the nations the ability to freely worship and praise God in His Holy City. They threaten nuclear destruction upon each other, lobbing bombs at each other on a daily basis. The restoration of Israel has had some serious set-backs if this was how it was supposed to come about.
For thousands of years, Christians have understood the Old Testament promises of "Israel's restoration" not to be the founding of a nation state, but rather the ushering in of God's kingdom where Gentiles and Jews were enfolded, together, into the promises of God. The restoration of Israel meant the establishment of God's Kingdom on Earth.
For thousands of years, Christians have understood the Old Testament promises of "Israel's restoration" not to be the founding of a nation state, but rather the ushering in of God's kingdom where Gentiles and Jews were enfolded, together, into the promises of God. The restoration of Israel meant the establishment of God's Kingdom on Earth.
Have thousands of years worth of Christians simply misunderstood God's promises - that they weren't really for them, but were for a nation-state that would be established in 1948? If so, this misunderstanding extends to many of the authors of the New Testament, who wrote after the fall of Jerusalem, and spoke of their expectation that Jesus would return at any time with no stipulation that a Jewish nation-state must first be re-established. In fact, most Christians saw the destruction of Jerusalem as God moving beyond the confines of Judaism and Jerusalem, spreading across the world - just as Jesus told the Samaritan woman it would and just as he told his disciples it would before his ascension. While he was here, Jesus warned of Jerusalem's destruction with no hint that it would need to be rebuilt before his return. In fact, when he spoke of the Temple destruction, he pointed to Himself as the rebuilding of the Temple - He was the Temple (John 2). His spirit would now reside inside people, not a structure. "For do you not know your body is a temple of the holy spirit?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) (I will write more regarding the Temple issue in another posting)
Ezekiel's River & The River of Life
When one reads through Revelation, they easily pick up on the fact that while John picks up on a multitude of Old Testament promises, he never quotes them exactly. The promises of the Old Testament for John take on new twists and extend beyond its original understanding. In Ezekiel 47, there is a river described streaming from the Temple of God, and on either side of it are trees that provide healing for Israel.
In Revelation's vision, the River of Life flows from the throne of God and the trees on either side provide healing for ALL nations, not just Israel. Revelation takes the Old Testament promise and makes it bigger and grander than it was originally.
"By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:12)
"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5)Other Old Testament Promises Fulfilled in Revelation 21
John continues to take these Old Testament promises and applies them to the vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The opening chapter of Revelation 21 is like a "who's who" of prophetic promises.
Revelation 21:1 - "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."
Isaiah 65:17 - "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered."Revelation: 21:2 - "I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her bridegroom."
Isaiah 61:10 - "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."Revelation 21:3 - "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."
Ezekiel 37:27 - "My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people."
Zechariah 21:10 - “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you."Revelation 21:4 - "‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Isaiah 25:8 - "He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 65:19 - "I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.Revelation 21:5 - "I am making everything new!"
Isaiah 43:19 - "I am about to do a new thing."Revelation 21:1a - "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end."
Isaiah 4:6 - "I am the first and I am the last, before me there is no God."Revelation 21:1b - To him who is thirsty I will give drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Isaiah 55:1 - "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you that have no money, come buy and eat!"The promises to Israel in the Old Testament find their new fulfillment and meaning in the promises of Revelation through Christ's kingdom. Again - it is not a matter of if God keeps His promises, but how. Like the 144,000, the promises God has made regarding Israel now transcend and encompass every language, people and nation. It exceeds the expectation. The promises are all-encompassing of all God's people.
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