Originally posted by Littlejoe
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Deuteronomy 30 also speaks of AFTER both the blessings and curses (scattered from the land) have occurred, detailing a route back to possession of the land of the covenant. It calls it "restoring their fortunes", a phrase repeated throughout Scripture as a callback predicting the regathering of the people to the land.
Israel has not yet fulfilled the command, but they were not predicted to do so until ALL of the tribes are reunited in the land after a staggered regathering:
First the tribes of Israel are brought back to the land and "THEN" they will "know that I am the Lord". The order is made abundantly clear.
And the regathering and the time of the resurrection not only clearly occur at the same time period, but they are used as symbols for one another. And this aligns with what Daniel is told by Gabriel:
The "end of days" and the resurrection are clearly equated, and Daniel is told he will rise to receive his "allotted inheritance", intentionally echoing the land partition language of Deuteronomy 32 and therefore clearly referring to the land of Israel.
Hence the title of this thread. Paul, following the clear theme existing through Scripture, equates the end of days with a regathering of Israel which will culminate in the resurrection. Both physical.
As for the "staggered" nature of the regathering, just as the northern kingdom of Israel (containing 10 of the 12 tribes) and the southern kingdom of Judah (containing the other 2) went into exile at different times and into different locations (the northern tribes were so widely scattered that they have been considered "lost"), so their regathering into the land of Israel will be at different times and from different locations:
Regathering, reuniting of the 12 tribes and a rebuilding of the temple, which is all clearly portrayed in Revelation and clearly required when Paul says the Antichrist will "sit in the temple and proclaim himself God". See how the Bible makes sense when we read and integrate all of it and not just the bits we like?
"the land I gave my servant Jacob" is a physical place and cannot be interpreted otherwise. It says the Israelites will dwell their "forever", as will the physical temple of God which He calls His "dwelling place".
The staggered nature of the regathering is made quite explicit here:
The tribes of Judah (known as "the Jews") will be brought back to the land of Israel first, followed by the tribes of Ephraim (many of whom are Christians who have lost the knowledge of their physical descent from Abraham). The Jews are the "fathers" (the tribes who retained knowledge of their genetic descent [fathers]) and the Ephraimites are the "children" (the tribes who forgot their heritage and need to be instructed in it like children) whose hearts Elijah will turn to one another.
I have heard it objected that because genealogical records are lost the tribes could never recover their tribal identities, but in fact the same situation occurred during the return from the Babylonian exile--which was a foreshadowing of the "second" and greater "exodus" back to the land in the end days--and a solution was found:
Obviously the Urim and Thummim would be used to determine the ancestry of the priest hopefuls to establish their right to partake of the most sacred food.
Now to finish with Zechariah 12, it is also obvious that "the one they have pierced" is Jesus Christ, whom the Jews will come to a saving knowledge to in the end days (you will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord) and this is also alluded to using the very same "mourning" language by the Lord Jesus:
And the "plain of Megiddo" is also mentioned, which is clearly an allusion to Armageddon of Revelation.
However, later both Moses and speak of God expelling Israel from the land if they sinned against God. Now, how could this apparent contradiction be reconciled with the almost totally secular Israel of today?
I would submit it is a Spiritual Fulfillment in the Church. Couldn't this promise, instead of being fulfilled in a "literal Israel", be fulfilled in a spiritual Israel, otherwise known as "the church"? We see Paul in which calls believers the “Israel of God” and the spiritual “seed” of Abraham .
Paul and the other apostles had to walk a fine line between rejecting salvation solely through works of the law and rejecting salvation solely through declarations of faith (lip service) with no corresponding deeds (works of the law). Those who belong to Christ are indeed Abraham's seed "according to the promise", but not according to the flesh and it is to his seed according to the flesh that the physical land of Israel is promised as an everlasting possession. Of course, though circumcision is of no use to an adult desiring to join the physical nation of Israel, a child born to them and circumcised on the 8th day could be reckoned among the tribes:
We can also see in Romans 11 which says that Israel was “broken off” because of their rejection of their Messiah (v. 17).
The Jews stumbled over the stumbling block of thinking the Law meant more than it did. Christians stumble over the stumbling block of thinking the Law means less than it does. Just as the Jews were cut off, so too will the "Christians" be who think they can worship God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him (as evidenced by their lack of deeds).
So, while literal Israel sinned and broke the covenant, God will still keep the Abrahamic covenant, only with NT believers who are in Christ .
This is why the apostles use "odd" language when speaking to "the church". They knew the plan of God and the "lost" state of the tribes:
The Temple has been restored.
Yes, the Spirit dwells within us. But Jesus Christ is no mere spirit. Though He is God, He is also a man of flesh and bone and that man cannot literally dwell within us. He requires a physical dwelling place befitting His status as our God and our King. That dwelling place will be the physical temple.
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