The two Israels

“But it is not that the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel.” – Romans 9:6

Not all who are of Israel (Ethnic Israel) are Israel (True Israel):

1. Ethnic Israel
2. Israel of God/True Israel   

Ethnic/National Israel

The nation of Israel was born on the very day Israel entered into Covenant with God, soon after their exodus from Egypt. 

God delivered Israel from Egypt for two reasons:

1. God brought Israel out of Egypt to become their God

1. God brought the Nation of Israel out of Egypt to give them the land of Israel as their inheritance

God brought Israel out of Egypt to become their God 

I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 22:31

It was an act of choosing the Nation of Israel for his inheritance and possession:

“… I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” – Leviticus 20:25-26

But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are. – Deuteronomy 4:20

Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession. – Deuteronomy 14:2

God brought Israel out of Egypt to become to give them the land of Israel as their inheritance 

Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. – Deuteronomy 4:37-38

In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?”  tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. –Deuteronomy

The inheritance of land is guaranteed to Abraham’s descendants, and preserved through the Covenant made with Abraham:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you…The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” – Genesis 12:1,7

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon [The Covenant].” – Genesis 15:7-9

The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. – Genesis 17:8-10

While the promise of the inheritance of the land is unconditional, ownership and lasting residence on the land is very conditional. The Mosaic Covenant defined the Torah, composed of “Mishpat” (Civil law) and “Chukkot” (Ceremonial law), as the standard required to “take possession” of the land: 

Now, Israel, hear the decrees [huqqah] and laws [mishpatim] I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. – Deuteronomy 4:1

See, I have taught you decrees [huqqah] and laws [misphatim] as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. – Deuteronomy 4:5

And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees [huqqah] and laws [mishpatim] you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. – Deuteronomy 4:14.

In exchange for Torah compliance, God promises to bring peace, safety, and blessings to the Nation while they live on the land:

• Blessings as a result of Torah observance are specific to the land, and to the Nation of Israel (Leviticus 26:1-9; Deuteronomy 28:1-12 ). 
  • Deuteronomy 11:13-21 – rain, grain, wine and oil as a reward for obedience to the Torah. 
• Curses for disobedience to the Torah are specific to the land, and to the Nation of Israel (Leviticus 26:14-29; Deuteronomy 28:15-68). 
  • Deuteronomy 11:13-21 – no rain, no produce, and exile as a consequence of disobeying the Torah.
• The ultimate consequence of defiance against the imperative to obey the Torah is exile from the land (Leviticus 26:33-39; Deuteronomy 28:64-68).

Since obedience to the Torah is tied to residence on the land, expansion of territory is granted when Israel is obedient (Deuteronomy 19:8-10) and land is taken away when Israel is disobedient (2 Kings 10:31-32). 

Ethnic Israel will never cease

Israel will never cease from being a nation:

“He who appoints the sun  to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me. – Jeremiah 31:35-36

He will not abandon or destroy Israel, nor will he forget the Covenant made with them:

For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath – Deuteronomy 30:31 

God will never completely reject the descendants of Jacob. Rather, he plans to restore their fortunes and have compassion on them (regather them to the land):

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. [Christians do this!] This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’” – Jeremiah 33:23-26

Israel of God

Israel of God transcends physical ancestry, and includes both Ethnic Israelites and gentiles:

Neither circumcision [Ethnic Israelite] nor uncircumcision [gentile] means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. – Galatians 6:15-16

The Israel of God is therefore beyond the physical. It refers to the ultimate kingdom above all terrestrial powers: the Kingdom of Heaven. Members of the IOG (Israel of God) are citizens of “Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26) they are “Jews inwardly” (Romans 2:29) and have the circumcision of the heart. 

The Israel of God consists of branches that grow on the “true vine”

Ethnic Israel is likened to a vine:

You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. – Psalms 80:8-9

The Prophets frequently lament the degeneration of the vine of Ethnic Israel into a wild and corrupt vine:

I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? – Jeremiah 2:21

Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt.The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. – Hosea 10:1-2

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Jesus is the ‘True Vine’

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. – John 15:1

I am the vine; you are the branches. – John 15:5

The only way Ethnic Israel can recover its fruit, is to connect to Jesus as the ‘True Vine’ and remain in him:

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:4-5

Branches that do not connect to the true vine are removed:

If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. – John 15:6

Ethnic Israelites that reject Jesus are therefore excluded from membership into the Israel of God. Unbelieving Ethnic Israelites become in a metaphoric sense, dead branches reserved for kindling. 

In Romans 11:18, Paul writes that the unbelieving Jews are like old branches of an olive tree that have been ripped off.

Although Ethnic Israel is preserved in the sense that God will not allow their National identity to fade, on a spiritual level they have already perished. 

Children of promise vs. Children of the flesh

Paul refers to such Ethnic Israelites as “born according to the flesh” in contrast to believers who are “children of the promise”:

“Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise”

In 1 Corinthians 10:18 Paul calls unbelieving Ethnic Israel “Israel according to the flesh”.

Sons of Abraham through faith

Just as Abraham was declared righteous as a result of faith, likewise, righteousness is credited to anyone who submits to God in trust and faith (Romans 4:5-6).

God promised that Abraham would become ‘heir of the world’ by becoming the father of ‘many nations’. God chose that the world would inherit Abraham as father through faith, and not through any work such as circumcision: 

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed… – Romans 4:16-17

This is also expressed in Galatians chapter 3:

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. – Galatians 3:8-9

Paul calls the promise of justification and adoption through faith “the promise of the spirit”: 

“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (a spiritual blessing).” – Galatians 3:14

According to Paul, the promise of the spirit has been made available to Jew and gentile in this order:

1. Abraham received the “promise” of justification through faith (Romans 4). 
2. It was promised to his “seed” meaning the ultimate seed/descendant, the Messiah (Galatians 3:16).
3. Through faith in the Messiah we become adopted as sons, and therefore we inherit the “promise” as well (Galatians 3:14).

For more on the subject of becoming Sons of Abraham through faith: Click here.

Summary

1. Ethnic Israel – physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who have inherited the possession of the land.
   • Also referred to as “children of the flesh”, “Israel of the flesh”
2. Israel of God – All members of IOG are spiritual Israelites belonging to a Spiritual Kingdom who possess a spiritual inheritance.
   • The IOG is also referred to by the following names: ‘Spiritual Israel’, ‘True Israel’
   • The IOG consists of believing gentiles and Ethnic Israelites. 

Double inheritance

According to the Torah, a double portion/share is reserved exclusively for the firstborn son as an inheritance:

If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him. – Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Ethnic Israel is God’s firstborn son:

Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” – Exodus 4:22-23

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” – Hosea 11:

Believing Ethnic Israel also has a double inheritance, relative to their Gentile brothers. While believing gentiles only possess a spiritual inheritance as a result of faith, believing Ethnic Israelites possess two forms of inheritance: a physical inheritance (the physical territory of Israel) and a spiritual inheritance. We know this to be true, as prophecy hammers great emphasis on Gods will to use the New Covenant to supernaturally lead Israel to obey, for the express purpose of initiating a final and permanent gathering of the Nation to the land. As scripture has emphasized numerous times throughout, Gods requirement for the inheritance of the land is Torah observance. This is why, although Israelites and gentiles stand on equal footing in terms of salvation, it is to the Israelite that the obligations of the Torah exclusively belong. The reward of Torah is land ownership, and corporately, when Israel obeys Torah while in exile, it will lead to the epic return of the exiles and finally, the Messianic age.