God’s Plan for Israel
Hartmut Ising
Part 1: Theological Antisemitism
God’s special plan of salvation for Israel is described in Romans 11:25–29: For I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation: a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn ungodliness away from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” Concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake; but concerning election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
At a panel discussion during the 1958 Catholic Congress in Berlin, a Catholic professor of theology answered the underlying question by quoting Romans 11:29 — “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”—thereby affirming that God had never rejected His people Israel or replaced them with the Church (supersessionism, or replacement theology). After this brief and clear statement by the Catholic theologian, his Jewish colleague Pinchas Lapide stood up and embraced him.
Until the end of the eighteenth century, almost no one entertained the idea that Israel might have a role in God’s plan of salvation independent of the Christian Church. One example is a work by Henry Finch entitled The World’s Great Restauration, with the subtitle The Calling of the Jews. Published in London in 1621, the book was written by a man with an excellent command of Hebrew. On the basis of his biblical studies, Finch predicted the establishment of a worldwide Jewish empire with Jerusalem as its capital. In keeping with the general understanding of his time, however, he assumed that the Jews would first convert to Christianity. The idea that even the English king should submit to Jewish supremacy enraged King James I so greatly that he had Finch imprisoned until he retracted the offending portions of his book.
For our subject—the historical development of the Christian understanding of prophecy—it is important to recognize that for many centuries any role for Israel in salvation history outside Christianity was considered inconceivable.
This failure to understand Israel’s significance in God’s plan of salvation goes back to the Church Fathers of the third and fourth centuries and, beginning with Augustine, became generally accepted teaching. According to this doctrine, because Israel rejected the Messiah, God’s promises to Israel passed completely and permanently to the Church. From that time onward, all prophetic statements concerning Israel’s future role in God’s plan of salvation were interpreted as referring to “spiritual Israel,” the Church, or “the assembly from the nations.” This doctrine extinguished the prophetic vision of a restored Israel.
W. Kelly comments: “The Church Fathers invented the miserable system that displaced Israel and Judah from Old Testament prophecy: they saw the Church in everything. Their learned treatises on the Antichrist and the great tribulation are therefore worthless … Both [Catholic and Protestant theologians] Judaized the Church by erasing Israel’s true hope” (Bible Treasury, vol. 16, p. 1542).
With this teaching, Christendom not only attacked the very basis of Israel’s existence; it also became blind to the prophetic word, in the sense of Zechariah 2:8: “… for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye.”
This statement may refer not only to Israel as the apple of God’s eye, but also to one’s own eye—in which case the person himself becomes blind.
The effect of the doctrine known as replacement theology was devastating for Christian hope. The living and joyful hope of the early Church was buried beneath the rubble produced by this false teaching. The Nicene Creed of AD 325 bears witness to the fact that, by that time, the joyful hope in the returning Lord—who will take His Church into the Father’s house in heaven (John 14:2)—had been lost.
In spite of this, individuals continued to live in joyful expectation of the Lord. Rube (1665–1746), for example, expressed this hope in his hymn “The Lord Comes at Midnight”: “Look daily toward His coming, as though it were today.”
This does not mean, however, that these believers correctly understood Israel’s future in salvation history. Even in the eighteenth century, Matthew Henry could not conceive of a future for Israel independent of the Church. In his well-known and otherwise excellent Commentary on the Whole Bible, he writes on Romans 11:26: “… Not that ever their special covenant should be restored, and their priesthood, temple, and ceremonies restored again (an end is put to all these); but they should be brought to believe in Christ, the true Messiah whom they crucified, and be incorporated in the Christian church …” (Commentary on the Whole Bible, ISBN 0-943575-51-6, p. 365).
Yet even then there were believers who better understood God’s ways with Israel. During the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), when Frederick the Great was deeply discouraged, his believing general von Zieten tried to comfort him by pointing to God. The king replied, “Prove the existence of God to me—in one word!” Zieten answered, “Israel, Sire.”
(www.efg-hohenstaufenstr.de/downloads/texte/preussenjahr2001.htm)
In the nineteenth century, this perspective began to change fundamentally. A Jesuit named Manuel de Lacunza, writing under the name Juan Josaphat Ben-Ezra, produced a stirring book entitled The Coming of the Messiah in Majesty and Glory. Among other matters, he examined whether the millennial kingdom of peace had in fact already begun, as the Catholic Church had taught since the fourth century. From Scripture, however, he demonstrated that the Messiah must return in power and glory before the millennial kingdom begins and that Israel has a future in salvation history independent of the Church. His book was published in Spanish in 1812 and was later translated into English by Edward Irving and published by L. B. Seeley and Son, London, in 1827.
At the Albury Park conferences on prophecy (1826–30), Darby and his friends also became acquainted with this book. They tested Lacunza’s ideas about the Messiah’s coming before the millennial kingdom and Israel’s future in salvation history against Scripture, and found both confirmed. The consequence of this discovery was clear: because theologians since Augustine had failed to distinguish Israel from the Church in prophecy, their interpretations of prophecy rested upon an error. The understanding of prophecy therefore had to be developed anew from the ground up. J. N. Darby and his brethren devoted themselves energetically to this task. As a result, joy in the rediscovered living hope blossomed in the young circles of the revival movement. Many hymns from the last century bear witness to this.
Foundations of Amillennial Thought
The Biblical View of God and the World
One root of the false assumption that Israel has no future in salvation history is a mistaken view of God and the world. According to this teaching, the millennial kingdom of peace began with the birth of Jesus Christ; no future kingdom of peace is therefore to be expected. To correct this false assumption, let us consider the biblical view of God and the world.
God the Creator is independent of His creation, of time, and of space. God and His plan are eternal:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
In God’s world there is no change. Therefore, it is said of the Son:
the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known (John 1:18),
although verse 14 says:
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
From these two passages we learn that the Son remains unchanged in the Father’s bosom while—though incomprehensible to us as creatures bound by time—He also entered our world in human form.
Figure 6:1 The Biblical View of the World
The LORD has established His throne in heaven (Ps. 103:19), yet even the heaven of heavens cannot contain God (1 Kings 8:27). “The heaven of heavens” is an Old Testament expression for the eternal world, which cannot contain God, for before the creation of time and space God is from everlasting to everlasting (Ps. 90:2).
Apart from this timeless world of God, our Lord Jesus Christ appears in the created eternal world; the throne of God and of the Lamb is there (Rev. 22:3). The Son of God left this eternal world to become human, and He returned there after His resurrection:
I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father (John 16:28).
There is time in the eternal realm, but it differs from our time. God created this time in the beginning as well, but it has no end.
One example of time in the eternal realm is the description of the guardian cherub, who was perfect when created but later committed wrongdoing:
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you (Ezek. 28:15).
A further example of time in heaven is Revelation 8:1:
When He [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Why Did God Create a Temporal World in Addition to the Eternal World?
For eternal creatures there is no redemption. Therefore, God drove humanity from the Garden of Eden, lest man stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever (Gen. 3:22).
Only temporal creatures can be redeemed, for He [God] certainly does not take hold of angels (Heb. 2:16) and without shedding of blood is no remission (Heb.9:22).
In our temporal world, the law of causality applies: in principle, a cause precedes its effect in time.
According to replacement theology, after Israel rejected Jesus Christ and condemned Him to death, God rejected Israel permanently. This teaching is based on our earthly understanding of time. By contrast, God knew Israel’s entire history from eternity and nevertheless said: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued My lovingkindness toward you. I will build you again, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel (Jer. 31:3–4).
The Prophetic Testimony of the Book of Daniel
Biblical prophecy also makes clear that Israel will be the ruling nation in the Messianic kingdom of peace.
Table 6:1 provides an overview of the book of Daniel. The introduction in Daniel 1 is written in Hebrew, whereas chapters 2–7 are written in Aramaic. In Daniel’s day, Aramaic was the international language, as English is today. In these chapters, God reveals the future of the world empires, which will ultimately be replaced by the Messianic kingdom of peace. The message of these chapters is therefore especially important for the nations.
Chapter 2 shows that, at the end of the fourth world empire, God will establish His kingdom. This will happen suddenly and violently and is represented by a stone cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them (Dan. 2:34). The description continues in the following verse: And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is the biblical description of the beginning of the millennial kingdom of peace. Chapter 7 then tells us which people will exercise dominion in this kingdom:
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High (Dan. 7:27).
Table 6:1 Overview of the Book of Daniel
Chapter 9 explains that Daniel’s plea — Cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary (Dan. 9:17) — will be fulfilled only after seventy times seven years. Sixty-nine times seven years had elapsed by the death of the Messiah. Then, in AD 70, the temple was destroyed, as announced in Daniel 9:26.
The final seven years still lie in the future. During the second half of Israel’s final week of years, Satan will help the “coming prince” attain world dominion. Then there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time (Dan. 12:1).
After this most intense tribulation, the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14 and 27 will be fulfilled:
And behold, One like a Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven; and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.
And to Him [the Son of Man] was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom one that will never be destroyed.
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
Rashi’s commentary on Daniel 7:13–14 is particularly interesting:
One like a Son of Man came. This is the King Messiah …
And HE gave Him dominion. And to this Man HE gave dominion over the nations …
The millennial kingdom of peace follows the most intense tribulation of all time under the rule of the “little horn,” the final ruler in the last phase of the fourth and final world empire. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, together with His people Israel, will be the everlasting ruler of this kingdom of peace.
By contrast, according to the “apocalyptically optimistic view” (Billy Graham’s address at the World Congress on Evangelization in Lausanne, 1974), Christianity will continue to grow throughout the world until Jesus Christ assumes rule as King. The beginning of His kingdom of peace is equated with His first coming about 2,000 years ago.
In this view, the clear prophetic announcement of the dreadful tribulation and the battle and victory of the King of Kings over the armies of His enemies (Dan. 12:1; Isa. 63:1–6; Rev. 19:11–21) has been suppressed.
The coming of our Lord in power and glory is described in both the Old and New Testaments and therefore provides the reference point for comparing prophecy in the two parts of the Bible (cf. my article, “Outline of a New Chronology of Revelation”).
When theologians today argue that Matthew 24 is an outline of prophetic events concerning the Christian Church, this is a remnant of the false doctrine that Israel was permanently rejected. Anyone who has recognized that doctrine as an error should consistently reject the false conclusions that follow from it. This is not arrogance, but a logically necessary consequence.
Today we should reconsider the prophetic Scriptures in light of the present world situation, in accordance with the word to Daniel:
But you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal the book until the time of the end! Many will search through it, and knowledge will increase (Dan.12:4).
If we study prophecy consistently with the goal of distinguishing the prophetic statements concerning Israel from those concerning the Church, we will reach different conclusions at certain points today than the brethren did 150 years ago. In this fresh study of prophecy, we should follow the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: Test everything; hold fast to what is good.
We wish to retain what is good in the work on prophecy done by earlier generations and, where our views differ, to give biblical reasons for them.
The following section considers our Lord Jesus Christ’s end-times discourse in Matthew 24–25. Many interpreters apply some portions to Israel and others to the Church. I would like to present arguments for the view that the prophetic significance of these two chapters concerns Israel alone.
In His discourse on the Mount of Olives, our Lord Jesus Christ answers His disciples’ questions about future events. In Matthew’s Gospel, He addresses the questions: What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age? The answer to the disciples’ question about signs preceding the destruction of the temple is found in Luke 21.
In Matthew 24, our Lord describes Israel’s future, including the dreadful tribulation that will come upon Israel and upon all who believe in the true God when the final false messiah exercises his power. In Matthew 24:15–16, Jesus Christ quotes from the book of Daniel (12:1):
Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
This tribulation will last three and a half years and will be the most intense tribulation of all time. Afterward, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, will return to earth in power and glory, destroy the armies of the world that seek to bring Jerusalem under their control (Zech.12 and 14), and, before the Messianic kingdom of peace begins, judge the living from among the nations:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matt.25:31–32).
Part 2: God’s Twofold Plan for Israel
As I understand it, God’s plan for Israel encompasses several phases in salvation history. A central element of this plan is the promise of the gift of God’s Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel describes how God will give Israel a new heart and a new spirit. Israel, until then spiritually dead, will be brought to spiritual life by the Spirit of God.
Spiritual life existed before Pentecost as well. Old Testament believers were justified by faith and knew the working of God’s Spirit. The abiding gift of the Holy Spirit, however, was given to believers only at Pentecost. In this respect too, our Lord Jesus Christ was the Firstfruits:
John 1:32: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.”
God’s promises to Israel must be understood within the context of progressive salvation history.
God had given Abraham a twofold promise concerning his descendants. Genesis 22:17: “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that … I will surely bless you and greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven and like the sand on the seashore.”
I understand the stars of heaven as a picture of Abraham’s heavenly descendants and the sand of the sea as a picture of his believing descendants on earth.
Paul writes of believers:
Philippians 3:20: “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
This distinction between a heavenly and an earthly aspect of the promises is important for understanding God’s plan.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Through Ezekiel, God promised Israel that they would receive the Holy Spirit at two different times:
- Ezekiel 11:19: I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
This promise was given to Israel during the Babylonian captivity and has been fulfilled since Pentecost.
- Ezekiel 36:26: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
This second promise will not be fulfilled until the future. It is the third prophetic word mentioned in Ezekiel 37—following the opening of the graves and the formation of a body that is still lifeless. The fulfillment of this promise is described in Zechariah 12:10.
Since Pentecost, the first promise of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled in people both from Israel and from the nations who have been born again through faith in Christ. I see this as the first phase in the fulfillment of the promises concerning the gift of the Spirit.
The second phase is the future salvation of Israel described by the prophet Zechariah:
Zechariah 12:10: “But I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; and they will look on Me whom they pierced, and they will mourn for Him.”
This promise points to Israel’s future repentance in connection with the visible return of Jesus Christ.
Thus, two phases in salvation history may be distinguished in connection with the gift of the Spirit:
Phase 1: Since Pentecost, people from Israel and from the nations have received the Holy Spirit and become members of the one body of Christ.
Phase 2: At Christ’s future return, the faithful remnant of Israel will recognize the Messiah whom they rejected and receive the Spirit of grace and supplication.
The Significance of Romans 11:25–29
The mystery of God’s plan for Israel is described by Paul in Romans 11:
Romans 11:25–27: “I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation: a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so, all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn ungodliness away from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’”
Paul describes a sequence in salvation history:
Israel’s hardening → fullness of the Gentiles → Israel’s salvation.
Israel’s present hardening is therefore not God’s final judgment upon His people. Rather, it has a temporal limit.
I understand the “fullness of the Gentiles” as the completion of the Church’s present period of calling. When this fullness has been reached, the Rapture of the Church will take place.
Afterward, “all Israel” will be saved. By “all Israel,” I do not mean every individual member of the Jewish people irrespective of personal faith. Rather, the expression refers to the entirety of Israel’s future believing remnant, through whom God will fulfill His promises to Israel.
This interpretation also accords with the context of Romans 11. Paul distinguishes between the hardened part of Israel and the remnant chosen by grace.
Romans 11:5: “Even so, at the present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”
Israel’s future salvation is therefore not the salvation of a nation apart from faith in Christ. It is the salvation of the people through their turning to their Messiah.
The apostle’s concluding words are of fundamental importance:
Romans 11:28–29: “Concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake; but concerning election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
This confirms the enduring significance of Israel’s calling. God has never finally rejected His people.
The Image of the Olive Tree
In common usage today, “Israel” usually denotes the Jewish people who still do not believe. This can easily create the impression that the Church and Israel have no relationship to one another.
In Romans 11, however, Paul presents a more differentiated view.
Romans 11:1: “I say then: Has God rejected His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
And:
Romans 11:5: “Even so, at the present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”
Paul thus distinguishes between the unbelieving part of Israel and the believing remnant. Paul himself and the first believers in Jerusalem belonged to this present remnant.
Paul then describes the position of the believers from the nations:
Romans 11:16–18: “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a participant in the root and richness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast—remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you.”
Believers from the nations therefore do not become an entirely independent people of God. They are grafted into the already existing olive tree and share in its spiritual blessings.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum does not interpret the olive tree as a direct picture of either Israel or the Church, but as a picture of the place of spiritual blessing. He sees the root of this place of blessing in the covenant with Abraham. Through faith, believers from the nations become participants in the spiritual blessings contained in that covenant.
This view is closely related to Ephesians 2 and 3.
Believers from the nations were formerly:
Ephesians 2:12: “alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
But now:
Ephesians 2:13–15: “But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace.”
Almost the entire Temple Mount formed the “Court of the Gentiles.” Warning inscriptions stood at the boundary of the sacred area, threatening non-Jews who crossed it with death. When Paul wrote Ephesians, the dividing wall was still present in the temple at Jerusalem.
Figure 6:2. Left: Plan of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Right: The balustrade separating the courts for Jews and Gentiles bore signs with a Greek inscription: No foreigner [may] enter within the railing and enclosure surrounding the sanctuary! Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for the consequence—death.
Through the removal of the wall, believing Jews and Gentiles become one new man. Believing Jews do not lose their citizenship. Believers from the nations become participants in Israel’s citizenship and in the covenants of promise. Verse 19 emphasizes this fact:
Ephesians 2:19: So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.
God’s children from the nations are fellow citizens with the saints from Israel and members of God’s household. In this I see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars of heaven.
The apostle Paul mentions the hidden mystery of the Church:
Rm.16:25: The revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began
and describes this mystery as follows:
Ephesians 3:6: “that those from the nations should be fellow heirs, members of the same body, and fellow participants in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
An important truth is connected with this:
Through Christ, believers from the nations are joined with the believing remnant of Israel in a new unity and share in the spiritual blessings of the promises.
The Church is united with the believing remnant of Israel as the one new man in Christ. Believers from the nations have been grafted into this spiritual blessing and have thereby become fellow citizens with the saints and fellow participants in the promises. God’s special calling of Israel nevertheless remains in force.
Who Is the Bride of the Lamb?
The question of the Bride of the Lamb reveals a further connection between Israel and the Church.
Hosea describes Israel’s future restoration using the image of marriage:
Hosea 2:19–20: “I will betroth you to Me forever; 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.”
In the immediate context, the woman is Israel. God promises Israel a future restoration and an everlasting bond of faithfulness.
In the New Testament, however, the Church is also associated with bridal imagery:
2 Corinthians 11:2: “I betrothed you to one husband, to present you to Christ as a pure virgin.”
The bridal imagery therefore cannot simply be assigned exclusively either to Israel or to the Church.
An important addition is found in Revelation 21.
John writes:
Revelation 21:9: “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
He then sees the holy city Jerusalem. The names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel are written on its twelve gates, and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are inscribed on its twelve foundation stones.
This portrayal is especially significant for the question of the Bride.
The twelve tribes of Israel are present in the Bride’s completed form just as the twelve apostles of the Lamb are.
The final Bride is therefore not portrayed as the abolition of Israel in favor of the Church. Nor is the Church excluded from the final portrayal of the Bride. Rather, the unity of God’s completed work of redemption becomes visible. Israel is not replaced by the Church, nor is the Church isolated from Israel in salvation history.
The Prophetic Significance of Matthew 25
After His teaching in chapter 24, the Lord explains further details concerning the coming period in the form of parables, beginning with the word “then”:
Matthew 25:1: “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”
The word “then” connects the parable with the previously described time of Christ’s return. I therefore understand the prophetic significance of Matthew 25 in the context of the end times, the Messiah’s return, and the coming of His kingdom.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
It is striking that Jesus speaks of ten virgins and a bridegroom, but does not mention the bride herself.
This can be understood against the background of ancient Near Eastern wedding customs. The wedding essentially consisted of two phases. First, the bride was brought to the bridegroom’s house. The wedding celebration then followed.
If this historical background is applied to the parable, the bride’s absence may indicate that she is already with the bridegroom while the bridesmaids await his arrival.
All ten virgins are waiting for the bridegroom. All have lamps. Only five have oil with them. When the bridegroom is delayed, they all fall asleep. The decisive moment comes with the cry:
Matthew 25:6: “Behold, the bridegroom! Go out to meet him!”
The wise virgins are prepared. The foolish ones, by contrast, have no oil.
I understand the ten virgins as a picture of people from Israel who in the end times, await the coming of the Messiah-King. In my view, the wise virgins represent secret disciples of Jesus Christ, like Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38). Oil is often understood as a picture of the Holy Spirit. Such a typological interpretation agrees with the overall testimony of the Bible, though the parable itself does not explicitly explain it.
I see a possible parallel with the 144,000 sealed ones in Revelation 7. They too belong to the tribes of Israel and are sealed before God’s coming judgment. In my view, this sealing is the reception of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible does not explicitly state, however, that the 144,000 are identical with the five wise virgins. I therefore understand this connection as a possible correspondence within salvation history, not as a certain exegetical conclusion.
The wise virgins may take part in the wedding of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7).
The Foolish Virgins
The Lord says to them:
Matthew 25:12: “I do not know you.”
This sentence contains a serious warning against being inadequately prepared for Christ’s coming.
In my view, this group could represent Israel’s future faithful remnant. These believers, whose faith corresponds to that of the Old Testament, will recognize their Messiah only when they see Him; they will then repent and receive the Holy Spirit (Zech.12:10). They may not take part in the wedding celebration of the Lamb.
The Parable of the Entrusted Talents
After the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord speaks of the talents entrusted to servants:
Matthew 25:14–15: “For it is like a man about to travel to a distant country, who called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one—to each according to his ability—and then he departed.”
What do the entrusted talents represent?
Paul asks:
Romans 3:1–2: “What advantage, then, has the Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision? Much in every way. First of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”
I therefore see in the talents a relationship to the special commission and responsibility Israel received from God.
The prophetic meaning of the parable may be that, at His return, the Messiah judges those to whom God has entrusted responsibility.
The two faithful servants bear fruit and are commended. The third servant, by contrast, buries what was entrusted to him and bears no fruit.
This reveals a principle of divine judgment: extraordinary gifts are not decisive; what matters is the fruit of a person’s life.
Jesus says:
Matthew 7:20–21: “Therefore you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
This warning applies regardless of what extraordinary gifts a person may possess.
The Judgment of the Living Nations
At the end of the discourse, Jesus describes the judgment of the living people from among the nations:
Matthew 25:31–34: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne; and all the nations will be gathered before Him … Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”
As I understand it, this judgment takes place at Christ’s visible return. The people from the nations are judged according to how they treated the Lord’s “least brothers” during the great tribulation.
The Lord says:
Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”
In the context of the end-times discourse, I understand these “brothers” to be Israel’s faithful remnant, who by this time have repented and received the Holy Spirit. These believers therefore do not stand in judgment with the other survivors. I regard them as a distinct group to whom the Lord refers with the words: “the least of these My brothers.”
The conduct of the nations toward these people during the tribulation (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:15) will be decisive at the judgment.
The righteous will enter the Messianic kingdom:
Matthew 25:34: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
This kingdom is the Messianic kingdom of peace, whose coming was already announced by the Old Testament prophets.
The unrighteous, by contrast, will be excluded from the kingdom:
Matthew 25:41: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Conclusions
As I understand it, our Lord Jesus Christ’s discourse in Matthew 24–25 can be viewed as an important part of God’s plan for Israel and the nations. In this connection, I distinguish two groups or phases in salvation history.
1. The Present Bridal Church
The people from Israel who believe in Jesus Christ form the beginning of the Church. Believers from the nations are received into the Church through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The fulfillment of the first promise of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 11:19 began at Pentecost. The one flock in John 10:16 and the people in the temple’s two courts in Ephesians 2:14 represent believing Jews to whom believers from the nations are added. The branches of the olive tree that were not broken off in Romans 11 represent the believing remnant of the Jews, including Paul. Other branches are added to them—people from the nations who, through faith, became spiritual children of Abraham. Jews and Gentiles form the “new man” in Christ.
2. The Future Salvation of Israel’s Remnant
After the fullness of the Gentiles has been reached, God will complete His future plan for Israel. The faithful remnant will recognize the returning Messiah:
Zechariah 12:10: “They will look on Me whom they pierced, and they will mourn for Him.”
Then the promise will be fulfilled:
Romans 11:26: “And so all Israel will be saved.”
I understand “all Israel” as the entirety of the future believing remnant. They receive the Holy Spirit as “all Israel.” Likewise, the 144,000 are sealed as a complete group.
Revelation 14:4 says of them: These were purchased from among humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
They are therefore the firstfruits of the great harvest in the Messianic kingdom of peace (cf. my article, The Riddle of Psalm 49, is rapture a Jewish prophecy?).
A coherent picture thus emerges:
God has not rejected Israel. The Church has not replaced Israel.
Through Christ, believers from the nations have been grafted into the spiritual blessing of the promises. Jews and Gentiles are united in Christ as one new man.
The ultimate fulfillment of this salvation history becomes visible in Revelation when the Bride of the Lamb appears in the form of the New Jerusalem. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on its gates, and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb on its foundation stones.
At the conclusion of salvation history, what Paul had already called a mystery in Ephesians 3 thus becomes visible:
Those from the nations are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and fellow participants in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
In my view, our Lord Jesus Christ’s discourse in Matthew 24–25 contains God’s twofold plan for Israel:
1. The Bridal Church is the portion of Israel that believes in Jesus Christ, to whom God has added Abraham’s children of faith from the nations. Before the day of God’s wrath begins, the Bride will be caught up to the dwelling place our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared (John 14:2–3). This corresponds to the first phase of the ancient Near Eastern wedding. The parable of the ten bridesmaids begins with preparations for the wedding’s second phase. The Bridal Church correspond to the stars of heaven in God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 22:17).
2. The five foolish virgins may not take part in the wedding. They still have a task before the visible return of Jesus Christ: they will cleanse the Third Temple and resume sacrificial worship (cf. my article, “The Future of the Temple in Jerusalem”), as the faithful Jews under Judas Maccabeus did in 165 BC. After the Messiah returns, they will live and have children on this earth in the millennial kingdom of peace. In my view, they correspond to the sand of the sea in the promise mentioned above.