THE RELATIONSHIP AND DISTINCTION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH

Israel and the Church are God’s two representative bodies of people on earth, each fulfilling unique missions in different periods of history. “Israel” [also known as the “Jews”] is the chosen race that began with Abraham in the Old Testament, and “the Church” designates all believers [Jews and Gentiles] living between Pentecost and the Rapture.

    Scripture upholds Israel and the Church as two distinct peoples with different roles and destinies in the plan of God. Israel is distinguished by ethnicity, nationality, and spiritual regeneration, whereas the Church is a spiritual body of all ethnicities of any nation [including both Jews and Gentiles who have accepted the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as Savior during the Church Dispensation [see diagram]]. The Jews are citizens of the only client nation to God; Church Age believers are citizens of heaven living as ambassadors to God in the devil’s world. Because Israel as a nation rejected the incarnate Jesus Christ, her time as God’s earthly agent has been temporarily set aside. In her place is the Church, presently being formed as a new creation “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and given unprecedented spiritual assets for glorifying the resurrected Lord. In a future age [the Tribulation], unbelieving Jews will have a final opportunity to receive their Messiah and represent God as His chosen people on earth. Jesus Christ will ultimately return to rule all regenerate Jews in their promised kingdom [in the Age of Millennial Reign], in which the Church will fulfill a separate yet glorified role.

    The relationship and distinction between Israel and the Church is a critical doctrine for believers today. All too often, misinformed Christians blend Israel with the Church as one regenerate, chosen people of God. Some assume the Church has replaced Israel and therefore inherited her covenants, and some even harbor hostility toward the Jews as a people they believe God has permanently cast out. These and other misconceptions are resolved with the correct dispensational approach to Scripture [see the Dispensations]. Israel has a future in God’s plan, and “the Lord will not abandon His people [the Jews] on account of His great name” (1 Samuel 12:22).

    During the present dispensation [the Church Dispensation], Jews are distinguished by their regenerate state. Jews who have accepted Messiah [Jesus Christ] in this present dispensation are spiritually regenerate and, therefore, part of the Church. By ethnic [genetic lineage] designation, they are still Jews, but by spiritual designation, they are no longer Jews but members of the Church [also known as the Body of Christ] (Galatians 3:28). Jews who have not accepted Messiah [Jesus Christ] during the present Church Dispensation remain as Jews ethnically and spiritually. Their ethnic and spiritual identity as Jews remain intact and distinct from the Church. When the Church is complete and raptured out and the Church Dispensation has run its course, Jews who have not yet believed in Messiah will enter the Tribulation period as Jews. The portion of Jews who believe in Messiah [Jesus Christ] during the Tribulation will become the true Jews [ethnically and spiritually regenerate Jews]. The true Jews who make it past the Tribulation period alive will enter the Millennium period as Jews forevermore.