Not All Israel is Israel Part 2
To many students of the Bible Paul’s comment in Romans 9:6 that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (NIV) sounds very strange. Is Paul saying the part of Israel that is “descended from Israel” is no longer part of the nation known as Israel? Then that would mean the only people who are actually Israelites are Jewish people who believe in Yeshua as Messiah and the “not all who are descended from Israel ” group are no longer members of the Jewish nation. Yet if you follow that logic, any examples of the NT apostles addressing the segment of the Jewish nation who have not accepted Yeshua as Messiah as still “Israel” makes no sense.
Check out these examples from the New Testament:
Acts 2:22: “Fellow Israelites, listen to this:
Acts 2:29: “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.”
Acts 2: 36: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Acts 3:12: “When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?”
Acts 3:17: “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.”
Acts 4:10: “then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”
No wonder Christians are befuddled by Paul’s reference to two Israel’s in Romans 9:6.
Twelve Tribes of Israel
In light of Paul’s head-scratching use of the phrase, “”not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”, Christian theologians come up with explanations that confuse the issue even more.
My favorite explanation is the one that states unbelieving Israel has been replaced by the Church. This is called “replacement theology.” In this theological system, “Israel” that accepted Yeshua is none other than the Church. Rather than create clarity, Replacement Theology (aka disguised as Fulfillment Theology or Transformation Theology or Promise Theology) contributes more fuzzy thinking since the reader of the New Testament is forced to think “Church” when he reads the term “Israel”. Try to think “Church” in reading Romans 11:26, “and in this way all Israel will be saved.” Thanks, but no thanks. (more…)
