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What does the Bible teach about Israel?

Answered by Gene Cunningham, Basic Training Bible Ministries · from The Basics

Israel is the nation to which God pledged an eternal throne, kingdom, and posterity through the Davidic Covenant — a literal, earthly kingdom, distinct from the kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom entered the instant a person places faith in Jesus Christ. When the Son of David came and offered Himself to the Jews as their Messiah, Israel rejected her King, and the establishment of her promised kingdom was postponed. Daniel's prophecies had already implied a break in the chronology of Israel's history, a gap between Messiah's first and second comings, and that gap is the Church Age. The plan of God unfolds across four dispensations. First is the age of Israel, governed by the Davidic promises, which closed when Israel rejected her King. Second is the Church Age, the mystery hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in full to Paul, in which the kingdom of God is entered by faith; it began when the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. Third is the Day of the Lord, the seven-year Tribulation of wrath and judgment that follows the Rapture. Fourth is the kingdom restored to Israel, the promised Messianic reign that begins when the King returns. Israel's rejection did not cancel her covenant — it postponed its fulfillment until Christ's second coming.

Also asked: Does the Bible teach that Israel will have a literal kingdom on earth? · What are the four dispensations of God's plan and how does Israel fit into them? · What is the significance of the Davidic Covenant in relation to the nation of Israel?

Source: The Basics The Basics — Israel (canonical doctrine)

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Age of IsraelChurch AgeDanielDavidDay of the LordDispensationsIsraelJudgmentKingdom of GodPaulPlan of GodPromises

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