The Ancient Promises

  by James C. Morris – www.tojesusbeallglory.com/p/james-c-morris.html

In very ancient times, God made a long series of promises, beginning with the famous promises to “Abraham” and his “seed,” which were repeated to “Isaac” and “Jacob,” and later to the ancient “nation” of “Israel.” Long after that, God made additional promises to each of the sub-nations of “Ephraim” and “Judah,” to each of “the twelve tribes of Israel” by name, and even to the physical land occupied in ancient times by the “nation” of “Israel,” going so far as to define the future “borders” of that plot of real estate. Along the way, He also made promises to the descendants of “Phinehas,” “David,” “Jonadab,” “Zadok,” “Nathan,” “Levi,” and “Shimei,” as well as to “Zion”\pard plain and to “Jerusalem.” All of these promises were explicitly stated in plain, clear words. And most of them were unconditional.

Much later, but still in ancient times, the same God made much better promises, not to a specific nation, but to whoever would believe. Today, some people imagine that these better promises canceled the promises God had made so much earlier. But no scripture says, or even implies, such an idea. In fact, the scriptures explicitly say the very opposite. For, long after the Jews had rejected their Messiah at Calvary, the Holy Spirit, in speaking through the Apostle Paul, said of these hardened rebels, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28-29)

And much earlier than this, God had clearly said that His promises were so absolute that even sin could not cancel them. For He said of His promise to David:

“If his sons forsake My law

And do not walk in My judgments,

If they break My statutes

And do not keep My commandments,

Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,

And their iniquity with stripes.

Nevertheless My lovingkindness

I will not utterly take from him,

Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

My covenant I will not break,

Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”

(Psalm 89:30-34)

We need to notice that these words, “My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips,” were declared in explicit reference to His previous words “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments.” So God was here plainly declaring that even sin could not cause Him to alter the word that had gone out of His lips. For that would be breaking His covenant. Sin, if it came, would be dealt with. But the punishment would not be a cancellation of the promises, for they were “irrevocable,” as Romans 11:29 puts it.

And even earlier than the time of David, God had said that:

“God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

(Numbers 23:19)

This last two pronouncements show us the reason this subject is so important. For in each of them, God himself basically said that, if He were not going to actually keep these promises, He would have been lying when He made them. The people who say that these promises have been cancelled do not realize what a serious sin they are committing. For they are making God out to be a liar.

These people reason that the promises were conditional, and that Israel, having failed to meet the conditions, lost them. But as was mentioned previously, and as we will see as we examine these promises, most of them were not conditional. And God had already foretold that Israel would reject their Messiah before He made most of these unconditional promises. For Psalm 22 was written during the days of David, long before God made most of the promises we will examine. And that psalm graphically describes our Lord’s suffering on the tree, even giving His exact words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” So if Israel’s failure were going to cancel the promises, God knew His unconditional promises would not be kept at the time He made them. So it is undeniable that if the promises were going to be retracted if Israel failed, then God would have been lying when He made these promises without attaching any conditions to them.

Other people, not going so far as to say that God “retracted” these promises, claim instead that He was only using symbolic language when He made them, that the name “Israel” in the prophecies simply meant God’s people, in a general sense, as it were. So, they argue, these prophecies actually apply to “the church” instead of to the ancient “nation” of “Israel.”

But this argument will not stand up to a careful examination of the wording of the prophecies themselves. For God said concerning the “nation” of “Israel:”

“Thus says the LORD,

Who gives the sun for a light by day,

The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,

Who disturbs the sea,

And its waves roar

(The LORD of hosts is His name):

‘If those ordinances depart

From before Me,’ says the LORD,

Then the seed of Israel shall also cease

From being a nation before Me forever.’

Thus says the LORD:

‘If heaven above can be measured,

And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,

I will also cast off all the seed of Israel

For all that they have done,’ says the LORD.”

(Jeremiah 31:35-37)

We need to notice that here God clearly said that “Israel” would never cease to be a “nation,” and that would He would never cast them off. So this promise was made to a particular “nation,” the “nation” of “Israel,” not just to the people of God generally. But, not only was it made to the “nation” of “Israel,” it was made in specific reference to their sins. For the promise ends by clearly saying the He would never “cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done.”

But in addition to this, as we noticed earlier, there were unconditional promises made, not only to the “nation” of “Israel,” but to each of the sub-nations of “Ephraim” and “Judah,” to each of the “twelve tribes of Israel” by name, and not only to the descendants of “Abraham,” “Isaac,” and “Jacob,” but also to the descendants of “Phinehas,” “David,” “Jonadab,” “Zadok,” “Nathan,” “Levi,” and “Shimei.” And there is absolutely no passage, anywhere in the entire Bible, that even hints at an idea that any of these other names means “the church.”

There are indeed a few scriptures that some people interpret to mean that the name “Israel” represents “the church.” None of these scriptures actually say that, but many people think they mean it. So we will examine some of these scriptures, and see what they actually say.

The one scripture they quote more often that any other is, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” (Romans 9:6) They pretend that the words “they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” mean that the true “Israel” is a completely different group than “they... who are of Israel.” This, of course, is pure interpretation. This conclusion is nothing but human reasoning about the meaning of what God said. But it is not only merely human reasoning. It is directly contrary to the explanation that God Himself gave for what He meant by saying this. For the next few verses read:

“Nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise: ‘At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.’ And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’ ” (Romans 9:7-12)

Here, God explained, three times over, what He meant by this statement. First, He said that not “all” of “the seed of Abraham” were his “children.” And then He added the words, “that is.” These words, “that is,” are a clear statement that what is about to follow is an explanation of what He had meant by what He had just said. Then He explained that it was not just “the children of the flesh” who were “the seed” but those who were “the children of promise.” Now here, I added the word “just,” but that word was indeed implied in the words “nor” and “all” in the clause “nor are they all children.” This was also demonstrated in the two examples given in the following verses. For both of these examples were cases of some, but all of Abraham’s “children of the flesh” being “the children of promise.” The two examples given were “Isaac” being chosen over “Ishmael” and Abraham’s other physical offspring, and “Jacob” being chosen over “Esau.” But nothng in this passage even suggests the motion that any people who were not “the children of the flesh” could even possibly be the “children of promise.”

Further, this notion contradicts the context of the statement. For just before saying this, the Apostle, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had said:

“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.” (Romans 9:1-5)

This statement could not have been more clear in stating who the Apostle was speaking about. It was Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” This leaves zero “wiggle room” for even trying to pretend that he was speaking of anyone other than the physical “nation” of “Israel,” and most definitely not “the church.” But what did the Holy Spirit inspire him to say about this physical nation of Israel? “To whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises.”

This was said by the Holy Spirit long after “they all cried out at once, saying, ‘Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas.’ ” (Luke 23:18) and long after, through the stoning of Stephen, (Acts 7:57-60) they had “sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ ” (Luke 19:14) But even after this flat rejection of their Messiah, the Holy Spirit still said of Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites,” that all these things pertained to them. And what were these things that still pertained to them?

“the adoption,

the glory,

the covenants,

the giving of the law,

the service of God,

and the promises.”

All of these things are important. But the item that concerns our present subject is the last one in the list. This passage explicitly says that “the promises” still “pertain” - to whom? To Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites!” This, indeed, is the death knell to all their cavils. For here, in the New Testament, God explicitly said that “the promises” still pertain to Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.”

Again, these people make much of a scripture that says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:15-16) They imagine that this scripture defines “the Israel of God” as the group that “walk according to this rule,” that is, “the church.” For the “rule” mentioned here was “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”

As in the case above, this is pure human reasoning. The Bible simply does not say that “as many as walk according to ths rule” are “the Israel of God.” But further, this mere human reasoning goes counter to what the Holy Ghost actually said. For this passage explicitly differentiates between two groups of people. One of these groups is “as many as walk according to this rule.” that is, “the church.” and the other group is “the Israel of God.” These two groups are differentiated by the word “and.”

“And” does not mean, that is. it means also. That is, this word does not indicate that the two groups mentioned are the same, but that they are different. Nor is this word simply one that the translators added, to make up the sense as they understood it. This word is distinctly present in the Greek text of this statement, as the Greek word καί, kai in our alphabet, word number 2532 in Strong’s Geek Dictionary, which translates literally as “and.”

Further, these two groups are not only differentiated by the word “and,” but also by a distinct repetition of the word “on.” This word, which in the Greek text is επί, epi in our alphabet, word number 1909 in Strong’s Greek Dictionary, is distinctly used in regard to each of these two groups. That is, the Holy Spirit said, “peace ON” “as many as walk according to this rule” “and ON” “the Israel of God.” So God clearly referred to “as many as walk according to this rule” and “the Israel of God,” as two distinct groups.

Again, these people love to quote, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16) We first need to notice the context of this statement. Immediately before saying this, the Holy Spirit, in speaking through the Apostle Paul, had said, “Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.” Galatians 3:15 And immediately after it, He said, “And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.” (Galatians 3:17-18) So the context of this statement, of which they make such bad use, is the absolutely unchangeable nature of the “covenant” that God made with “Abraham.” Now the people who make such bad use of this verse, which, as we have seen, they take out of its context, say that, since the promises were made to “Christ,” then we, that is, s24 “the church,” being “in Christ,” are the true heirs of the promises, instead of the “nation” of “Israel.”

Again, this sounds reasonable, but it is erroneous. There were many promises made to Abraham. So which one of these many promises was Galatians 3:16 speaking of? In its context, this passage speaks of God making a “covenant” with “Abraham,” and quoted from that “covenant,” “And to your Seed.” The only place in the Old Testament which mentions a “covenant” with “Abraham,” and includes the words “And to your seed,” is Genesis 17:1-8, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 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 everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’ ” As this is the only Old Testament passage that matches Galatians 3:15-18, this has to be the one that the Holy Spirit was speaking of.

But we need to notice that the Hebrew word here translated “descendants” in the NKJV, which we are using, is rendered “seed” in the KJV. And in the phrase “and to your seed,” this Hebrew word is indeed singular in the Hebrew text, ¹ even as Galatians 3:16 says. Yet, even before getting to the end of that same promise, God himself changed the sense of this same word to the plural when He said, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations.” (Genesis 17:7) So we see that, although what Galatians 3:16 says is absolutely true and correct, in regard to the promises it was referring to, this statement did not apply to all the promises God made to Abraham.

We again see this and very plainly, in Genesis 15:13-16, “Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ ” There can be absolutely no question whatsoever that our Lord Jesus was not the subject of this pronouncement. For, although Jesus was taken to Egypt as an infant, He was not there for “four hundred years,” and He was not “afflicted” there. Further, the Hebrew word forms translated “theirs,” “them,” and “they,” (the last one being used three times) are all in the plural in the Hebrew text. So in this case, the “seed,” that is, the “descendants” of Abraham, clearly meant the physical descendants of Abraham. Here, it was most certainly not referring to our Lord Jesus.

So if the word “seed” can, in at least some cases, be properly translated “descendants” (of “Abraham,”) as we see that, in this case, this translation was obviously correct, what did God actually promise to the physical “descendants” of “Abraham”? In addition to the promises we have already examined, the promise of a specific “land” was made again and again. We find this in each of the following promises:

“Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7)

“And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.’ ” (Genesis 13:14-17)

“Then He said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.’ ” (Genesis 15:7)

“On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates-- the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’ ” (Genesis 15:18-21)

We need to realize that in each these places, God explicitly made an unconditional promise to give that “land” to the “descendants” of “Abraham.” And He explicitly promised that this would be “forever.” (Genesis 13:16) But this unconditional promise was not only made to Abraham.

God repeated this unconditional promise to Isaac, saying, “Dwell 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 Abraham your father. 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; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” (Genesis 26:3-5)

And He again repeated it unconditionally to Abraham’s grandson Jacob, saying, “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:13-15)

We should notice that each of these promises contained two distinct parts. One part was the promise, repeated from that to Abraham, that “in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (to Isaac) and “in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (to Jacob.) And the other part was the land promise, also repeated from the promise made to Abraham. As He had promised Abraham, He promised Isaac that “to you and your descendants I give all these lands,” and He promised Jacob that “the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.”

Now the promise that in them “all the nations (or families) of the earth” would “be blessed,” was obviously a promise about the coming of our blessed Lord, Jesus the Christ. And that was, unquestionably, the most important part of the promises. But that does not do away with the other part of these promises, which as we saw in the case of Abraham, was the promise of a specific “land.”

God repeated this promise of a specific “land” to “the children of Israel,” saying, “I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.” (Exodus 6:8)

And we know that this promise of that specific “land” was literally fulfilled, exactly as God had promised it. “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43-45)

But even as they were ready to enter the land, the Lord warned them that, if they did not obey His law, “the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.” (Deuteronomy 4:27-28) And we are all aware of the sad fact that this threat was carried out, and this guilty nation was indeed “scattered” “among the peoples,” and “left few in number among the nations.”

Yet, even as He gave them this warning, their God added a promise, saying, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.” (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)

As this promise was conditional, many people imagine that ALL of God’s promises of an eventual restoration of this ancient nation were conditional. But that is not the case. For their merciful God unconditionally promised them that this condition would be met, that He would eventually bring them to repentance. For, even while He was declaring their final expulsion from the land because of their wickedness, God said, “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘concerning this city of which you say, “It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:” Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

“For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.’ ” (Jeremiah 32:36-42)

God did not just promise this a time or two, but again and again, as we see below:

“Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7)

“ ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,’ says the LORD. ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says the LORD: ‘I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ says the LORD. ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’ ” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

 

“ ‘And it shall be, in that day,’

Says the LORD,

‘That you will call Me “My Husband,”

And no longer call Me “My Master,”

For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,

And they shall be remembered by their name no more.

In that day I will make a covenant for them

With the beasts of the field,

With the birds of the air,

And with the creeping things of the ground.

Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth,

To make them lie down safely.

“ ‘I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the LORD.

“ ‘It shall come to pass in that day

That I will answer,’ says the LORD;

‘I will answer the heavens,

And they shall answer the earth.

The earth shall answer

With grain,

With new wine,

And with oil;

They shall answer Jezreel.

Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,

And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;

Then I will say to those who were not My people,

“You are My people!”

And they shall say,

“You are my God!” ’ ” (Hosea 2:16-23)

“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.” (Hosea 3:4-5)

“In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid.” (Zephaniah 3:11-13)

So we see that, even though the promise of their eventual restoration was, in some places, made conditional upon their repentance, yet that repentance was unconditionally promised. So the end result is that all the promises of their restoration become unconditional, even though the condition of repentance was placed upon some of the promises.

When Israel finally sees their long awaited Messiah, “one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 13:6 KJV) I have used the KJV rendering here because I think it more accurately represents the true meaning of the question than the NKJV rendering, which says, “What are these wounds between your arms?”

The result of this revelation will be that “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.” (Zechariah 12:11-14) The promised result of this is, “And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” (Isaiah 4:3-4)

This unconditional promise of a restoration of the ancient nation of Israel to their God, was closely intertwined with a matching unconditional promise of a restoration of that ancient nation to its ancient homeland in prophecies such as this one

“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you." ' " (Ezekiel 36:24-29)

Once again, this was not just implied a time or two, but was repeatedly and unconditionally promised, in plain, clear words, as we see in the following passages.

“ ‘I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,’ says the LORD. ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

“ ‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.” And they shall dwell in their own land.’ ” (Jeremiah 23:3-8)

“ ‘I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place--of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”--in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever” -- and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,' says the LORD.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 33:7-13)

“But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and in that time," says the LORD, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.” (Jeremiah 50:19-20)

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; Because you have taken My silver and My gold, And have carried into your temples My prized possessions. Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders.

“Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head.” (Joel 3:4-7)

“ ‘I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,’ Says the LORD your God.” (Amos 9:14-15)

Many imagine that this promise of a restoration of Israel to her ancient homeland was fulfilled in the return from “Babylon.” But that return did not include the ancient sub-kingdom of “Ephraim,” which, even to this day, has never returned. The return from Babylon was only the ancient sub-kingdom of Judah, and only a very small part of that. For “Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.” (Nehemiah 7:66-67) That is a total of only forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety two persons. By comparison, 2 Chronicles 17:12-19 informs us that, in the days of Jehoshaphat, the army of Judah was one million, one hundred and sixty thousand men, to say nothing of those that were not in the army. Compare this very small return with the return that God had promised:

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because the enemy has said of you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,” ’ therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”--therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around--therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with whole-hearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.’ ” Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame.

“But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.” ’ ” (Ezekiel 36:1-10)

Here, we need to notice the words, “all the house of Israel, all of it.” In the Hebrew text here, the word כֹּל, kol in our alphabet, is doubled, stressing that the meaning is absolutely all of “the house of Israel.” Yet the return from Babylon was only a very small part of “the house of Judah.”

We also need to notice that the promised return was to “the mountains of Israel,” along with “the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around.” (Ezekiel 36:4) And eleven chapters later, God went so far as to define the future borders of that land.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the road to Hethlon, as one goes to Zedad, Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran). Thus the boundary shall be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side. The south side, toward the South, shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South. The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.’ ” (Ezekiel 47:13-20)

This is nothing less than the definition of a specific plot of real estate, first by description (chapter 36) and then by precisely specifying its borders. (chapter 47) Some people demand why we are so interested in a mere plot of real estate on the other side of the world. And the answer, of course, is, because God is so interested in it. We can hardly overstress the fact that God has explicitly promised this specific plot of real estate to a particular “nation.” And that promise is unconditional.

But in spite of all these explicitly stated scriptures, there are many who imagine that this is only symbolic language. That when the prophetic scriptures say “Israel,” they mean “the church,” and when they speak of “the land,” they mean “heaven.” Major sources of this erroneous notion that we have not yet examined are the scripture that says “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 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.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7-9) And another that says, “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:13-16)

Many reason that, since these scriptures plainly call those who share “the faith of Abraham,” his “sons,” then, when the prophetic scriptures say “Israel,” they mean “the church.” But the Bible does not say that being a child of Abraham by faith makes a person an Israelite. The concept of being “an Israelite by faith” is not taught anywhere in the Bible. This indeed, seems like a reasonable conclusion. But all such reasoning about the scriptures is dangerous. And this notion, which is nothing but mere human reasoning, leads to a seriously false conclusion, that “the church” is “spiritual Israel,” (a term found nowhere in the entire Bible) and thus, that the promises made to the ancient “nation” of “Israel” actually belong to “the church.” This, as we have seen, is seriously wrong, because it makes God out to be a liar. God did not make these promises to His people generally, but to a specific ancient “nation.” And He promised to give that ancient “nation” a specific plot of real estate.

But this notion is not only wrong because the Bible never says that “Israel” means “the church.” It is also wrong because the ancient promises were not only made to the “nation” of “Israel.” (And remember, we have seen that God explicitly used the word “nation” in making these promises.) But there were numerous unconditional promises also made to each of the two sub-nations of “Ephraim” and “Judah,” and to each of “the twelve tribes of Israel” by name, as well as to the descendants of seven specific Israelites. And no scripture even hints at an idea that any of these other names means “the church.”

So let us examine some of the unconditional promises made to “Ephraim” and “Judah.”

“It shall come to pass in that day

That the LORD shall set His hand again the second time

To recover the remnant of His people who are left,

From Assyria and Egypt,

From Pathros and Cush,

From Elam and Shinar,

From Hamath and the islands of the sea.

He will set up a banner for the nations,

And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,

And gather together the dispersed of Judah

From the four corners of the earth.

Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart,

And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not envy Judah,

And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;

Together they shall plunder the people of the East;

They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;

And the people of Ammon shall obey them.”

(Isaiah 11:11-14)

“Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: “For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.” Then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.” Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

“ ‘And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?”-- say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.’ ” And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. Then say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” ’ ” (Ezekiel 37:15-23)

“Return to the stronghold,

You prisoners of hope.

Even today I declare

That I will restore double to you.

For I have bent Judah, My bow,

Fitted the bow with Ephraim,

And raised up your sons, O Zion,

Against your sons, O Greece,

And made you like the sword of a mighty man.” (Zechariah 9:12-13)

All three of these passages explicitly make unconditional promises to both “Ephraim” and “Judah.” And in addition to that, the following two passages from Ezekiel 48 extend the unconditional promises to each of “the twelve tribes of Israel” by name.

“Now these are the names of the tribes: From the northern border along the road to Hethlon at the entrance of Hamath, to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward, in the direction of Hamath, there shall be one section for Dan from its east to its west side; by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, one section for Asher; by the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, one section for Naphtali; by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, one section for Manasseh; by the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, one section for Ephraim; by the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, one section for Reuben; by the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, one section for Judah.” (Ezekiel 48:1-7)

“ ‘As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section; by the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon shall have one section; by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar shall have one section; by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun shall have one section; by the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad shall have one section; by the border of Gad, on the south side, toward the South, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions,’ says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 48:23-29)

The usage of the area between these sections is defined in Ezekiel 48:8-22.

But now we need to look at when the Lord says He will bring them back to the land.

The main places we find this are:

“ ‘For behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many.

“ ‘Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,’ says the LORD.

“ ‘For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,’ says the LORD, ‘as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.’ ” (Isaiah 66:15-20)

Here the Lord describes the great battle of “Armageddon” without naming it, and then says that He “will send” “those among them who escape” “to the nations,” and that the nations will respond by sending “all your brethren” back “to My holy mountain Jerusalem.” So this prophecy clearly shows that the promised return of all Israel will be after the Lord comes in power and glory to judge the world, not before He returns. But we are told more than that. We are also told:

“ ‘For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.’ ” (Ezekiel 34:11-16)

“ ‘Therefore behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that it shall no more be said, “The “LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.” For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

“ ‘Behold, I will send for many fishermen,’ says the LORD, ‘and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.’ ” (Jeremiah 16:14-18)

So the Lord will not only bring them back generally, but He will “search for My sheep and seek them out,” “seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered,” and send “fishermen” and “hunters” to seek out the residue of them from wherever they might be hidden. Another scripture tells us that these are angelic seekers, for we also read that “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

But many of the children of Israel are rebels. These will be purged “from among” those returning to the land at this time. We notice the timing of the following prophecy in the fact that God pleads with them “face to face,” just as He did with their “fathers” “in the wilderness of the land of Egypt.” He could not “plead” with them “face to face” unless He was physically present on the earth. So this detail shows that this purging will take place after the Lord returns, not before. Yet it takes place as they are returning. So this prophecy again shows the timing of their return.

“ ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,’ says the Lord GOD.

“ ‘I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ” (Ezekiel 20:33-38)

We are not told what fraction of the people will be removed in this purge. But those that will be left are called a remnant, saying, “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.” (Micah 2:12)

We also know that this purging will be by death, for the Lord says “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.” (Zechariah 12:10-14)

Again, we read, “it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” (Isaiah 4:3-4)

The following clauses from these two prophecies show that they are speaking of those who have survived to this time:

 

“all the families that remain”

“He who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem”

“everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem”

And this purging (by death) is not only for those returning at this time. For we are told, concerning “the time of Jacob’s trouble:” (Jeremiah 30:7)

“ ‘And it shall come to pass in all the land,’

Says the LORD,

‘That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,

But one-third shall be left in it:

I will bring the one-third through the fire,

Will refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them.

I will say, 'This is My people';

And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.’ ” (Zechariah 13:8-9)

This purging by death is what shows that there is no contradiction between the scriptures that so explicitly say, for instance, that “all the house of Israel, all of it,” will again inhabit the “mountains of Israel,” along with “the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken,” as we saw in Ezekiel 36:1-10, with the other scriptures that say things like:

“For though your people,

O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,

A remnant of them will return.” (Isaiah 10:22)

So, although only a “remnant” of “Israel” will survive these judgmental purges, we are plainly told that absolutely all of them that do survive will not only be settled in their ancient homeland, but also restored to a true and living faith in their God.

But now we need to turn our attention to promises made to specific individuals. We have already noticed the promises in Zechariah 12:12-13 that the families of the houses of “Nathan,” “Levi,” and “Shimei” would repent with bitter weeping. But what about the other individuals to whom promises were made?

We read that the Lord said, “ ‘Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.’ Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ” (Numbers 25:11-13)

And the Lord gave a similar reason for saying, “ ‘the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.’ ” (Ezekiel 44:15-16)

And it was for a somewhat similar reason that “Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.’ ” ’ ” (Jeremiah 35:18-19)

We have already noticed the promise to David which was stated in Psalm 89. As it was originally made, it was worded, “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.

“When your day’-s are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:8-16)

We need to notice several details in this promise. First, the Lord said, “I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously.” As they were expelled from the land after their return from Babylon, we know that this promise was not fulfilled at that time.

Next, we need to notice the words, “If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” The previous words, “I will set up your seed after you” and “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever,” seem to be references to Christ. But it would be blasphemous to even suggest that Christ even might sin. So this promise is unquestionably speaking of the physical descendants of David, even though it obviously included the Lord Jesus as one of those physical descendants.

We have seen that the unconditional promises include, not only the “nation” of “Israel,” but also the two ancient sub-nations of “Ephraim” and “Judah,” each of “the twelve tribes of Israel” by name, seven specifically named Israelites, and the physical “land of Israel.” but now we need to examine the unconditional promises to “Zion” and “Jerusalem,” which are often intermixed in the same prophecies.

We have already noticed the scripture that says, “And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,” (Isaiah 4:3-4) But this unconditional promise continues with the words, “then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.” (Isaiah 4:5) There can be no question that this has never happened.

Again, we read:

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

(Isaiah 35:10)

“And the LORD will comfort Zion,

He will comfort all her waste places;

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

And her desert like the garden of the LORD;

Joy and gladness will be found in it,

Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”

(Isaiah 51:3)

And:

 

“The LORD also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

But the LORD will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel.

So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,

Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.

Then Jerusalem shall be holy,

And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

(Joel 3:16-17)

Again, as aliens still pass through Jerusalem, this promise has still, even to this day, not been fulfilled.

And we read:

 

“Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;

With great fervor I am zealous for her.’

“Thus says the LORD:

‘I will return to Zion,

And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth,

The Mountain of the LORD of hosts,

The Holy Mountain.’ ” (Zechariah 8:2-3)

And again:

 

“Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Old men and old women shall again sit

In the streets of Jerusalem,

Each one with his staff in his hand

Because of great age.

The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls

Playing in its streets.’ ”

(Zechariah 8:4-5)

And yet again:

 

“Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east

And from the land of the west;

I will bring them back,

And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

They shall be My people

And I will be their God,

In truth and righteousness.’ ”

(Zechariah 8:7-8)

 

And again:

 

“For thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Just as I determined to punish you

When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’

Says the LORD of hosts,

‘And I would not relent,

So again in these days I am determined to do good

To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

Do not fear.’ ”

(Zechariah 8:14-15)

And this promise was repeated again and again:

“In those days Judah will be saved,

And Jerusalem will dwell safely.

And this is the name by which she will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

(Jeremiah 33:16)

“And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 2:12)

“Egypt shall be a desolation,

And Edom a desolate wilderness,

Because of violence against the people of Judah,

For they have shed innocent blood in their land.

But Judah shall abide forever,

And Jerusalem from generation to generation.”

(Joel 3:19-20)

“The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:7-)

“And in that day it shall be

That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,

Half of them toward the eastern sea

And half of them toward the western sea;

In both summer and winter it shall occur.

And the LORD shall be King over all the earth.

In that day it shall be--

‘The LORD is one,’

And His name one.

 

“All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.” (Zechariah 14:8-11)

But unconditional promises were not only made to “Israel,” and to its parts, land, and cities. They were also made to other nations as well. Some nations will joyfully attack “Judah” because of their hatred. These will be destroyed, although that is not the subject of this article. But less guilty nations, though also punished, will afterward be blessed along with “Israel.” “Egypt” and “Assyria” are the first nations to be promised this restoration.

“And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria; a blessing in the midst of the land.” (Isaiah 19:22-24)

Then, “Moab,” “Ammon,” and “Elam” are promised restoration in highly similar passages.

“‘Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab In the latter days,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 48:47)

“‘But afterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:6)

And “‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:39)

And in a very long prophecy beginning with the words, “Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem,” (Ezekiel 16:3) the Lord said, “When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them, that you may bear your own shame and be disgraced by all that you did when you comforted them. When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state.” (Ezekiel 16:53-55)

And finally, the Lord unconditionally promised that the blessing of this wonderful future age, though centered in Jerusalem, will flow out to the whole world. He promised of this day that,

 

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares,

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

Neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

This is so important it is repeated in Micah 4:3.

We are told concerning “Israel” that “if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15) And we read of this day that “there shall be no more curse.” (Revelation 22:3) This refers to Genesis 3:17, where the Lord told Adam, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.” We see this again in Romans 8:19, where we read that “the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

The blessings of this wonderful day are described in glowing terms, like:

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,

The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

Their young ones shall lie down together;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole,

And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD

As the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

And:

“‘No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,

Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;

For the child shall die one hundred years old,

But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They shall not build and another inhabit;

They shall not plant and another eat;

For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,

And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain,

Nor bring forth children for trouble;

For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD,

And their offspring with them.

It shall come to pass

That before they call,

I will answer;

And while they are still speaking,

I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,

The lion shall eat straw like the ox,

And dust shall be the serpent's food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’

Says the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:20-25)

Now many want to deny that this wonderful age of blessing to Israel will actually take place. But, as we have seen, this blessing will flow out, first to the neighboring nations, and them to the whole world. Those who deny this, insist that these scriptures refer to the resurrected state in the “new heavens and new earth” described in other scriptures. But the error of this claim becomes obvious when we contrast this last promise with what God said of the new creation:

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ ” (Revelation 21:2-5)

We notice that in the age described in Isaiah 65:20-25, there will be both death and sin, while in the age described in Revelation 21:2-5, “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Further, in the age described in Isaiah 65:20-25, there will be “offspring,” plainly showing that the inhabitants of the earth will be both marrying and bearing children. But Jesus said, “when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Mark 12:25)

So we plainly see that these many promises, which are unconditional, describe a state of blessing in this present earth that will take place before “the new heavens and new earth.” And thus we see that, although Revelation 20:1-8 is the only scripture that tells how long this blessed state will last, it is unconditionally promised in many scriptures. And the thousand year span of ths period is stated six times over in this one short passage.

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 20:1-8)

Now those that want to deny that this will actually happen, correctly point out that, in every other place where the term “a thousand years” is used in the Bible, it is always being used metaphorically to mean “a very long time.” But, while this is correct, these people neglect the fact that while this passage indeed says “a thousand years” three times, three more times it says “the thousand years.” That is, in three of these references to the length of this period, The Greek text distinctly contains the word “the,” τα in the Greek, which is ta in our alphabet. This is a form of the Greek word ὁ, ho in our alphabet, word number 3588 in Strong’s Greek Dictionary, which translates literally as “the.”

Why is this significant? Because, in both Greek and Hebrew, the definite article is understood, even when it is not stated. So when it is stated, it is stressing that the reference is to a particular thing, as opposed to just something in general. And as no other passage in the Bible uses the term “the thousand years,” the entire rest of the Bible never, even once, uses the term “the thousand years,” metaphorically to represent “a very long time.” But further, the last time this term is used, it explicitly says, “when the thousand years have expired.” It would be difficult to make a more definite statement of the passage of a specific period of time. So the arguments these people make against interpreting this passage literally are clearly erroneous. For the period referred to in Revelation 20:1-8 is explicitly and repeatedly described in the very many promises we have examined in this article.

In summary, even if these people were correct about God having transferred the promises made to “Israel” to “the church,” (which is not the case.) Or alternately, that Bible prophecy symbolically uses the word “Israel” to mean “the church,” (which is also not the case) this would still have no effect on the many other explicitly stated promises that God made.

No discussion of the restoration of Israel would be complete without a discussion of the golden age that will follow that restoration, the time we call “the Millennium.” But as this, by itself, is a very large subject, so it will have to be treated in a different article.

1 We should note that the Hebrew word translated “descendants” in the NKJV, which we are using, (but which is translated “seed” in the KJV) is זֶרַע, zeraʿ in our alphabet, (word number 2233 in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary.) This is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word σπέρμα, sperma in our alphabet, (word number 4690 in Strong’s Greek Dictionary,) which is translated “seed” in Galatians 3;16.