The Israel Of God – All Israel Will be Saved
Oh Israel My Son
Sung By Bernie Knee
Music/Lyrics M. J. Garzillo
Scriptures tell us of such things as the Israel of God and eventually all Israel will be saved. Does the Bible give us any understanding of such scriptures? Who is Israel exactly, and is it any concern for the gentile world? How does this subject apply to both, the House of Israel and the House of Judah?
Galatians 6:16, And as many walk according to this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy and upon the Israel of God.
Romans 11:26, and so all Israel will be saved: as it is written, “There shall come out of sion (Zion) the deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob”
The name Israel is a name given by God in the Bible to identify an individual who was deserving of a name change, that person was Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebecca.
Esau and Jacob were born twins. Esau was the first born and was deserving of the birthright, but Jacob stole the birthright through deception from Esau, who didn’t value it anyway. Jacob’s life was of many trials and hardship. The name Jacob means heel catcher or supplanter. He eventually came to a place in his life where God directly dealt with him.
Genesis 32:24, And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of day. Verse 27, And He said unto him, “What is thy name”? And he said “Jacob”. Verse 28, And He said “your name shall no more be called Jacob but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and men and hast prevailed”.
The name Jacob pertains to the physical seed and the name Israel pertains to the Spiritual seed and means, he will rule as God.
It is a turning point in peoples lives when God changes names. The change is sometimes for the better like Abram to Abraham, or Sari to Sarah, and sometimes it is degrading like, Lucifer to Satan.
The name was given to Jacob because he overcame and prevailed over God’s enemy Satan. He was special as far as God was concerned because Jacob could now be the expression of God.
We can read of these twelve physical sons of Jacob/Israel, and the spiritual application God has written of in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:12, And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the names written thereon, which were the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
The history of the wandering of the nations of Israel and the prophesy that is given to them is written in the Old Testament.
They were considered as a nation of twelve tribes, rejecting to be led by God, (1Samuel 8:7). A man by the name of Saul was appointed King and within a short time Saul was rejected as the nation’s King. David was eventually made king over all twelve tribes. (2nd Samuel 5:5). After King David died, the tribes were split into two houses, making up the the House of Judah and the ten tribes called the House of Israel headed by the tribe of Ephraim, Joseph’s son. The House of Judah would be composed of Judah (Jews) and the tribe of Benjamin.
1 Kings 12:21, And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the House of Judah, with the twelve, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousands chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the House of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
We read of a united nation called Israel, making up twelve tribes who were all united under King David. Now the nation is divided into two houses, called the House of Judah, composed of two tribes, and the House of Israel, composed of ten teribes. Verse 21 says that both houses were at war with one another.
These are the ancestry of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If family members could not even find peace within themselves, what kind of an example could they ever set before the gentile population? Although they were descendants of the fathers, and have entered into a covenant with the fathers, they didn’t have the ability to be a Godly example before the people. Moses tells us why this is so.
Deuteronomy 29:4, “Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see, and ears to hear unto this day.”
God would have to work out His purpose another way. It would be through the one who is called the branch.
Zechariah 6:12, And speak unto him, saying, thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, “Behold, the man whose name is The Branch; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord”. verse 13, “Even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne: and the council of peace shall be between them both”.
A branch is always alive when it is taken from a live tree and has life within itself. The only tree in God’s word, the Bible, that has life within itself is the Tree of Life, which was initially rejected by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The book of Ezekiel mentions two sticks that will eventually be joined into one stick.
Ezekiel 39:19, Say unto them, thus sayeth the Lord God; “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them even with the tribe of Judah, and make them one stick in My hand.
The Two sticks are branches, which were once alive but being broken off a live tree and are now dead. God uses two dead sticks to illustrate the condition of the House of Judah and the House of Israel. The Branch, spoken of earlier, has life and only God will be able to restore life into the two dead branches.
The Branch spoken of by Zechariah can only refer to Jesus Christ, the son of God. Some say that He was born a Jew and proclaimed to be a king. How is it that Jesus could be a priest when the line of the priesthood pertained to the tribe of Levi?
Jeremiah 33:1, For thus says the Lord, “David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of Israel; neither shall the priests, the Levites, want a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifices continually.
Scriptures tell us that David’s throne will always be occupied and that the Levites office and duties will never be lacking. (See our work on God’s priesthood). How is it possible to make such a statement since David as king and all those who serve as priests have all died?
Jesus Was Born of Levi as Well as Judah
Jesus says of Himself, I Am the Light of the world. (John 8:12). With the birth of Jesus, light has come into this darkened world and with it a new and better covenant. (Hebrews 8:6; 12:24).
Jesus was born into this world by a virgin called Mary. Mary’s father was of the tribe of Judah, and Mary’s mother was of the tribe of Levi. Both lines came together in Mary and with He, being the promised seed and begotten of the Father, Jesus would be the hand who would eventually join both sticks together. (See our work on the genealogy of Jesus). Only Jesus, who is the life and the resurrection, (John 11:25), will be able to give life to the two sticks through the resurrection out from among the dead. Physical bloodline, genealogy, or umbilical cord to umbilical cord does not enter into God’s purpose.
Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond or free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” 29, ” And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”.
Those who claim to be descendants of Judah or any of the tribes of Israel through their bloodline are not who they claim to be according to the Word of God. They might be physical children of Jacob but will not have any part of a name changed to Israel as Jacob had had.
Romans 9:6, “Not as though the word of God hath taken non effect. For they are not Israel, which are of Israel: 7, Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they children: but, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called”. 8, That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of the promise and counted for thy seed”.
The promised seed began in the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 3:15). Isaac was a type of promise who would find it’s fulfillment in the New Testament with Christ, the only begotten of God. The King line of Judah and the Levitical Priesthood were realized in Christ.
Romans 8:1, “There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”.
The two sticks, spoken of in the Book of Ezekiel as the House of Israel, at the time of King David, were once a united nation consisting of all twelve tribes. Christ will sit on a throne, not of a divided kingdom but a united kingdom consisting of all twelve tribes, (Matthew 19:28)
Luke 1:32, “He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David”.
He, who Zechariah calls the branch, will give life to all who have faith and believe in the promises of God. He shall build the Temple of God. A Temple is a residence in which God will dwell. Today, God’s temple is His people.
1st Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you”.
Peter was given two keys of the Kingdom, (Matthew 16:18). One key was to open the way for all Israel, including the Jews, (Acts 2:38). The second key was to open the way for the Gentiles starting at the House of Cornelius. (Acts 10:34-35). These two keys are opening the way for those whom God calls and whomever will come to God, whether Jew, Israel or Gentile, they are all welcomed. These will be the Israel of God, and will be made up of the gates in the walls of the New Jerusalem, by which each of the twelve sons of Jacob will be perfected and each will enter through his gate into the Holy City.
Romans 11:26, Latter part of Verse, “There will come out of Zion, the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob;” 27, “For this is My New Covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”
All Israel will be saved when they accept the blood of Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12, ” neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved”.