Ancient Israel had been given a commission from her God: “Go and be my light of righteousness (obedience) to the Gentile world.” She had been commissioned with bringing praise to the Creator of all that was, is or ever will be. Moses had told the people specifically chosen for this important task: “For the Lord your God is God of gods …. HE IS YOUR PRAISE” (Deut. 10:17,21). Israel failed, to fulfill her assigned task, and failed miserably. She had her moments in the sun, but they were overshadowed by the times when she became the laughingstock of the Gentile world, causing Satan’s people to disrespect her God. Why had Israel failed? It was a matter of mindset. Israelites had neither the inner will nor the spiritual power to obey. If she had exhibited the will, to succeed, God would have supplied the power to achieve success. With the exception of a minutely few saints who’s hearts (minds) were right with Him, Satan defeated God’s chosen people most of the time. The percentage of those failing was almost as bad as the fiasco that took place in the Garden of Eden earlier. Nothing has changed.

Ultimately, God’s covenant with ancient Israel ended (Jer. 3:8,20). His focus would turn to the descendants of His original chosen ones. To those in the future who would have the will to obey Him He would give the power to obey His Law in letter and spirit. That power would be His Holy Spirit. However, as He would lament later, those who hungered and thirsted for such righteousness would be few in number (Mat. 7:13,14; 22:14). Many would be called to obedience, but few would be chosen for having answered His call. Based on Jude 1:14,15, I believe that that those who have answered His call will number approximately 10,000. These will be those who, upon His return to earth, will rise from the earth to meet Him in the clouds, then descend to the Holy Land with Him where they will aid Him in building the Kingdom of God. Read The Kingdom of God and The Three Resurrections. Key words–Kingdom and Three respectively.

In Jeremiah 31:31-34 we find God proclaiming the future implementation of a new covenant with Israel (and those Gentiles who would join her in obedience to His Law). Through the prophet He prophesied that a time would come when He would make a New Covenant with the physical House of Israel (the 12 tribes). The New Covenant would have Him writing His Holy Spirit-empowered LAW within their hearts/minds so that they could and would obey the LAW from within: “I WILL PLACE MY LAW IN THEIR INWARD PARTS AND WRITE IT IN THEIR HEARTS AND (THEN) I WILL BE THEIR GOD AND THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE.” Note that Law-rejecters, whether Israelite or Gentile, would not be God’s true people. Being a biological descendant of Abraham would not make one a spiritual child of the Lord. True God seekers would become spiritual Israelites by obeying His Law which would have been written in their hearts (minds). These would be those who would obey His command to “Be doers of the Law and not merely hearers, thereby deceiving themselves” (Jam. 1:22/ Rom. 2:13). Having the Ten Commandment Law hanging on one’s wall, then rejecting His 4th commandment of that Law means that one would be a hypocrite. As James tells us in 2:10, to break one commandment is to break the entire Law, thereby making one a worker of INIQUITY (LAWLESSNESS). Nothing has changed.

Recall that, early on in His ministry, Jesus had sent the 12 apostles to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” who had been scattered throughout the known world (Mat. 10:6-8). The Apostles were to locate them and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to them, heal their sick and cast out their demons. On the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. God sent His Holy Spirit into the hearts of those few disciples who had stayed true to His Son until His death. This episode is recorded in the first two chapters of the Book of Acts. In 2:14 Peter identified what was happening: “This (the infilling of the Holy Spirit) is that which was prophesied by the Prophet Joel ….” (2:28). Nothing has changed.

What was prophesied by Jeremiah in 31:31 was repeated hundreds of years later by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrew (Israelite) converts in 12:8-12. Though the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant, there is a duality involved in this transaction that must be understood. Physical Israel was the ekklesia (congregation/church) of the Old Covenant (Acts 7:38). The “church in the wilderness” (of Sinai) was a forerunner of the church of the New Covenant. The Mt. Sinai Law is still written in stone. However, with the creation of the New Covenant and the coming of the Holy Spirit, that same Law is now written in the hearts of true believers (saints–holy ones) by the Spirit which remains within the saint as his/her source of power. The sacrificial law that was “added because of transgressions (Gal. 3:19) was temporary and was to be in effect until Christ died. That law was “nailed to the cross” upon His death. During the Last Supper Jesus announced that a change in sacrificial items would take place upon His death, and that from that time on, His body and blood would be the only sacrifice needed for the removal of sins. Thus ended the added (sacrificial, ritualistic) law. Wine and bread would symbolize the change. If God required His people to bring forth praise of Him by obeying His Law under the Old Covenant, would He not require the same for those under the New Covenant? The Law did not change. Its location did change.

Those embracing Him today are the EARlY recipients (read The Three Resurrections) of the second promise God made to Abraham’s descendants. This was the SEPTER PROMISE–the promise of GRACE (SALVATION). Those who answer God’s call in this life, whether Israelite of Gentile, become Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:16,29). They are also known as SPIRITUAL ISRAEL–GOD’S TRUE , LAW-OBEYING CHURCH.

Through the Apostle Peter in his first letter to the church, the Lord declares that His true saints (spiritual Israel) are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people who PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO HAS CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELIOUS LIGHT” (2:9). In Isaiah 43:21 God had said: “This people (Israel), whom I have formed for Myself will show forth My praise.”

Through Peter, the Almighty summarizes His command for spiritual Israel–His true church: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims (meaning that His saints are in the world but separated from it), abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Conduct your lives honestly among the Gentiles so that, though they speak against you, calling you evildoers, they may, by your good works (of obedience) which they will see, GLORIFY GOD ON THE DAY OF HIS RETURN” (1 Pet. 2:11,12). The “Gentiles” Peter was referring to include spiritual Gentiles who are in the church who indeed speak evil of God’s true saints. Read The Apostasy of the Church. Key word–Apostasy. L.J.