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NEW JERUSALEM, PART 2

 


 

[FULL TRANSCRIPT]

New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ, Part 2

(Romans 11, Revelation 21-22, Isaiah 65, 2 Peter 3, Hebrews 12, various)

In Revelation 21, an angel shows John a bride descending from heaven, radiant, prepared for her Husband. Is she the Church? Israel? Both? Few questions divide Christians more sharply: has God rejected Israel, or does she remain His people still—and how, as Paul insists, will all Israel be saved? Part One laid the covenant foundation. Part Two unveils her.

 

Suzerainty Summary

In the first part of this lesson, we established our covenantal foundation. In part two, we begin to build. What we’ve established so far:

First, the suzerainty covenant structure shows Israel was never meant to earn God's favor by law-keeping. Obedience was always meant to be a response of the heart, not the vehicle of redemption.

Second, the covenants God made with Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Israel, and David were fulfilled in Christ and His New Covenant:

  • Just as the Father covered Adam and Israel, Christ divested Himself of His glory and clothes us in His righteousness (exchange of robes).
  • Just as the Father inserted His name and identity into His people (e.g. Abraham, Sarah, Israel), Jesus—whose name is above every name—writes His name upon the one who overcomes (exchange of names).
  • Just as the Father established blood as covenantal currency from Eden onward, the Son offers His blood as final payment to remove sin and restore everlasting life (exchange of blood).
  • Just as the Father established the covenant meal as a sign of peace, the Son sealed the New Covenant at the Last Supper and awaits its consummation until the last saint enters into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (covenant meal). The Church's communion is Israel's Passover arriving at its fullness.

Third, the Father and the Son are in perfect sync across all human history. The God who cut covenants with His people in the Old Testament is the same God who appears in the upper room, whose Spirit gathers together and seals a peculiar people to Himself. As we’ll continue to see, the New Covenant Church is not an eschatological plan B, nor a Gentile substitute. She is the covenant community of all ages, finally unveiled.

But first, a brief glimpse of covenantal union when it breaks down.

Enter Spiritual Adultery

As a warning to rebellious Israel prior to their Babylonian exile, the prophet Jeremiah contrasts Israel's early devotion with their present adultery. God remembers the devotion of their youth, their love as a bride, and how they followed Him in the wilderness (Jeremiah 2:2). The Hebrew word for “love” here is “ahavah”—the same word used for marital love—emphasizing the intimate, exclusive nature of God’s covenant relationship with His people. But the people have “played the harlot with many lovers” (Jeremiah 3:1), moving even into idol and Baal worship.

Writing around the same time as Jeremiah, Ezekiel offers us one of the most detailed marriage metaphors in Scripture via his sixteenth chapter. Jerusalem is presented as an abandoned baby, a foundling rescued and covered by God. Once she has grown into adulthood, God commits Himself to her and takes her as His bride, lavishing gifts and wealth upon her. Instead of remaining humbled by her lowly beginnings and bestowed glory, she grows prideful and ravenous. She devotes her God-given wealth to idol worship and false gods, a worship that rises even to the level of child sacrifice. To make matters worse, the nation of Judah then begins to export her corruption to the neighboring countries, fastening herself to pagan nations through foreign alliances. God compares her to Samaria and Sodom and indicates judgment by sword and destruction is coming. He will deal with Jerusalem according to their deeds, as they have “despised the oath by breaking the covenant” (Ezekiel 16:59).

Yet, just as Jeremiah reports the Lord petitioning Israel to return to Him, even in the face of all their rebellion and lewdness, so too does Ezekiel. In the closing verses of Ezekiel 16, God declares:

53 “But I will restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity, as well as Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore you along with them.”

Stop. “Restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity”? We know, historically, the whole region was destroyed in Genesis 19; there were no daughters left except for Lot’s two. This stumps many commentators. Most say God is using Sodom as a metaphor for the reprobate, or even Gentiles, and certainly not saying the city of Sodom will literally be restored. But often those same commentators argue that Jerusalem will be physically restored! (And Samaria too, presumably?)

Sodom and Her Daughters Restored from Captivity (Ezekiel 16:53 Explained)

When I discuss Revelation 20’s first resurrection in my lesson on the millennial reign of Christ, I explain the ancient Jewish understanding of Sheol, the underworld of the dead. Jesus Himself teaches that no man had ever ascended to heaven but the Son of Man who was from heaven (John 3:13, 14:6, Acts 2:34), and Peter explained Jesus’ three days in the heart of the earth had been to minister to the disobedient souls from old (1 Peter 3:18-22). I believe it is this captivity Jesus leads the captives from when He “led a host of captives, and gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:7-10, quoting Psalm 68:18). Ever since this ethereal event, all we’ve known is to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23). This is how the daughters of Sodom, and Samaria, and Judah are restored together following the establishing of the everlasting New Covenant (Ezekiel 16:60, 62) “so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD” (v63).

Indeed, upon standing before our Creator, it’s safe to say none of us will be able to boast; none are good, not even one (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:10).

Jesus as the Bridegroom of the New Covenant

In Matthew 9:14-15, when He is questioned about why His disciples don’t fast, Jesus responds:

“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Also Mark 2:18-20, Luke 5:33-35)

This is Jesus’ first recorded claim as Israel’s bridegroom. His response is simple and twofold: The Messianic age has begun, and He will leave in time.

Parable of the Wedding Feast Explained (Matthew 22:1-14)

In Jesus’ parable of the marriage feast (Matthew 22:1-14), our Lord describes the kingdom of heaven as a wedding feast thrown by a king (God) for his son (Jesus) intended for a first people (obviously Israel). While some simply dismiss the invitation, others seize and kill the messengers (“the prophets and those who are sent to you”; Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34). The king levels His wrath at the murderers and sends armies (Rome) to set their city (Jerusalem) on fire (recall Jesus’ prophetic downloads during the Triumphal Entry, Luke 19:41-44, and the Olivet Discourse). The king then extends the wedding invitation to anyone, and everyone else, “both good and bad” (obviously Gentiles).

But the parable doesn’t end there. Among the guests filling the wedding hall, the king finds one not dressed in wedding clothes. That man, speechless (as in, without defense or justification), is thrown into outer darkness, where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. This is the same teeth-gnashing outer darkness Jesus uses when he shows us the end of the worthless (lazy, unprofitable) servants in Matthew 24:51 and 25:30. This imposter seems to point to a type of person who will be found among the faithful who does not take upon themselves the righteousness of Christ, yield to His transformative work in their lives, nor press into kingdom service.

As we saw when we discussed the exchange of coats, Revelation 19 tells us the proper wedding attire is “the righteous acts of the saints” (v8; see also the saints of Sardis who have not “soiled their garments”, Revelation 3:4). [4] “The one who conquers will be clothed in white garments” (Jesus’ words to Philadelphia, Revelation 3:5). These white garments become a sign of the saints’ commitment to our Lord, a type of covenant mark.

Jesus, by His own words then, is the bridegroom; it is He who goes to prepare a place for us. Indeed, John the Baptist testifies to the same when he identifies himself as the “friend of the groom” (John 3:29).

At last, with all this foundation laid, we are ready to answer the question, “Who is New Jerusalem?”

The Bride of Christ, the Holy City, New Jerusalem

1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.’” (Revelation 21:1-4)

As we enter Revelation 21, the first heaven and earth have passed away, making room for the new. The apostle John sees “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” It is here God dwells among His people.

Revelation 21:9 continues the bridal imagery. One of the seven angels shows John “the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” and leans into a very symbolic illustration of a heavenly city whose bejeweled gates and foundation stones are named after the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. This lavish New Covenant kingdom imagery fulfills Isaiah 54’s “foundations of sapphires, battlements of rubies, gates of crystal, and walls of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11-12) and Isaiah 61:10’s, “as a bride adorns herself with jewels”. The ethereal city happens to be a perfect cube, the same dimensions as the Holy of Holies, further reinforcing it has always been God’s heart to abide with His people.

Pause. Did you catch it? I said, “New Covenant kingdom”. Let’s go back.

If we are to understand Revelation 21 and 22, we must understand the new heaven and the new earth.

If we are to understand the new heaven and the new earth, we must understand Isaiah 65, from whence it comes.

The New Heavens and the New Earth Explained (Isaiah 65)

17 “For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.” (Isaiah 65:17-19)

As it turns out, Revelation’s new heaven and new earth is a carbon copy of Isaiah’s:

  • It is God who creates the new heavens and the new earth (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:2)
  • The former things will not be remembered (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:4)
  • Mourning and weeping will cease (Isaiah 65:19; Revelation 21:4; see also Isaiah 35:10)
  • The presence of a holy city/Jerusalem (Isaiah 65:18; Revelation 21:2), and for good measure,
  • God’s people receive a new identity (Isaiah 65:15; Revelation 21:7)

We can be sure both prophecies by Isaiah and John—inspired by the same Spirit—are referring to the same new heavens and new earth. So, if John and heaven are quoting Isaiah 65, we ought to get familiar with it. Picking up now at verse 20, we’ll need to wrestle with a promised end to infant mortality and maybe some extended lifespans?

“No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and the sinner a hundred years old will be accursed.” (Isaiah 65:20)

Much debate enters here.

Literal interpretation (futurist); Some teach these will be conditions during Jesus’ 1,000-year millennial reign on the earth. However, most of these same folks believe the new heavens and new earth are the eternal state which only occurs after death, Hades and the wicked have been thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the millennial reign. Therefore, by their own framework, there shouldn’t be any death, or sinners, or even aging in the new heavens and new earth; this completely contradicts Isaiah 65.

Symbolic interpretation (preterist); If indeed this is a New Covenant promise—which it seems to be—the continued presence of infant mortality or premature death is explained by our “already/not yet” duality: the idea the kingdom of heaven is living and active on the earth, awaiting final glorification, even while the earth remains subject to death, disease and decay. An infant or senior dies then—not due to judgment for sin, as under the Old Covenant—but from the natural causes of a fallen world. The youth that dies at a hundred years may be saying the righteous centenarian will still have zeal for the Lord, or simply that heaven considers them young as they join the heavenly host upon physical death. And the sinner? If you’ve had a hundred years to figure all this out and you’ve still chosen to reject God, it probably won’t go well for you at the final judgment.

From verses 21 through 24, we have promises of security and prosperity for the people of God, but therein may lie another longevity promise (“as the lifetime of a tree”)?

Objection: Babies still die and no one is living to the age of trees

Listen, I get it: Neither the literal nor the symbolic explanations of Isaiah 65 are wholly satisfying. The literal interpretation logically implodes and the symbolic seems to stretch language beyond the breaking point while calling it “poetic”.

To solve this, we must recognize Isaiah is using an ancient near-eastern prophetic device: he is describing spiritual and covenantal security through the lens of physical protection. This is prophetic idiom.

Under the Old Covenant, infant mortality and premature death were the literal, explicit curses of a broken law. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, God warned Israel that rebellion would curse their wombs, steal their children, and invite famine, pestilence, and the sword of invading armies. Under this law of sin and death, a baby dying after a few days was the harrowing sign of a community under divine wrath.

The New Covenant changes everything. Christ took the entire curse of the law upon Himself. Therefore, when Isaiah promises that “no longer will a nursing infant live but a few days,” he is announcing the total abolition of the covenant curse. Isaiah isn't saying physical death ceases to exist, but that it is no longer a sign of God's condemnation.

Next, though many commentaries claim verse 22’s, “For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people” is a longevity passage, the text reads more clearly if we take the verse as a whole:

“No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.”

The passage seems to speak of stability and fruitfulness, not necessarily that kingdom life-expectancy will match that of mature trees. In fact, we also see the people of God likened to trees in the first psalm:

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.” (Psalm 1:3)

Surely we don’t read “whose leaf does not wither” as a promise of immortality? But there’s more. Consider Jeremiah 17:8:

“He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”

And in psalm 92:

12 “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,
15 to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”

As you can see, when we compare verse 22 to similar passages, it seems the Word consistently indicates the righteous will bear fruit until the end of our days, rather than living an arboreal lifespan.

Wolf and the Lamb Explained

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” (Isaiah 65:25)

Here, the wolf and lamb, the lion who eats straw and God’s protection for His people is pulled directly from Isaiah 11:6-7 and 9. Isaiah is drawing from his earlier portrayal of the Messiah’s appearance and the aggressive advance of His kingdom. Historically, we know this happened in the first century. But how do we reconcile the Edenic zoological peace seen in this passage?

Well, remember Peter’s “kill and eat” vision in Acts 10:9-16? The sheet of animals that represented the Gentile nations? Same principle here. We’re not seeing physical animals, but the taming of “wild” peoples by the Gospel. “The food of the serpent will be dust” offers a Genesis 3:14 reminder the serpent (Satan) is relegated beneath our feet; we have been seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Yet another witness to this interpretation can be found in Isaiah 35, which speaks of the arrival of the Messiah and the New Covenant kingdom. Depicted as a highway called the “Way of Holiness” (remember the early Church called herself “The Way” throughout the book of Acts) [5], Isaiah 35:9 says, “No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.”

Finally, Paul also seems to pin this new heaven and new earth to a first-century re-creation. It was Isaiah 65:1 he quotes as he expounds upon God’s ingathering of the Gentiles into the New Covenant Church:

“And Isaiah boldly says, ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.’” (Romans 10:20)

The entire context of Isaiah 65 is the transition away from rebellious national Israel (the Old Covenant) to the people of God by faith, which includes both Jew and Gentile believers (the New Covenant).

By recognizing the new heavens and new earth of Isaiah 65 undergird Revelation 21, we draw near to the ancient Jewish understanding of the New Covenant kingdom. Isaiah places sin and death inside this new creation, just as John depicts a city with gates wide open, healing the nations while sinners remain outside. This is not a far-off cosmic reset. Both describe the New Covenant kingdom inaugurated by Jesus Christ in the first century.

Heaven and Earth Will Pass Away (2 Peter 3)

While Peter delivers the answer to Isaiah 65’s wolf-and-lamb riddle, he also points to the old heaven and earth being replaced by the new in 2 Peter 3:10-13. Notice this passing away (burning up, dissolving, melting) of the old is placed in direct line with the approaching day of the Lord (v10). Due to all the error that gets taught around this passage, it bears repeating: As proven out by multiple Old Testament witnesses, the day of the Lord is not the end of the cosmos, but the end of a nation at the hands of a foreign, invading army directed by God Himself.

10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

The Jewish historian Josephus writes of this great noise and fervent heat in his account of the Jewish war with Rome and the fall of the Temple complex:

“While the holy house was on fire... The flame was also carried a long way, and made an echo, together with the groans of those that were slain. And because this hill was high, and the works at the temple were very great, one would have thought the whole city had been on fire. Nor can one imagine any thing either greater, or more terrible than this noise. For there was at once a shout of the Roman legions, who were marching all together; and a sad clamour of the seditious, who were now surrounded with fire and sword. The people...made sad moans at the calamity they were under. The multitude…in the city joined in this outcry with those that were upon the hill. And besides, many of those that were worn away by the famine, and their mouths almost closed, when they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and brake out into groans, and outcries again. Perea did also return the echo: as well as the mountains round about [the city:] and augmented the force of the intire noise. Yet was the misery itself more terrible than this disorder. For one would have thought that the hill itself, on which the temple stood, was seething hot; as full of fire on every part of it, that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain, more in number than those that slew them...” (War 6.5.1)

To a first-century Jew, the Temple and its Mosaic rites were the microcosm where heaven met earth. Watching the physical Temple dissolve in a boiling fire was truly the old heaven and earth passing away. After repeating the vision again in verse 12, Peter petitions his readers to, “look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (v13). Remember Jesus’ words when prophesying Jerusalem’s judgment from Mt. Olivet: “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall never pass away” (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33).

Objection: Every tear, no death, no sorrow (Revelation 21:4)

Still, a proponent for the New Covenant reading of Revelation 21-22 will have to contend with all the absolute imagery we find, including “no more sea”, “every tear wiped away”, “no more death or mourning or crying or pain”, Jesus’ declaration He makes “all things new” (21:5) and complete freedom from the curse (22:3).

This is the primary linchpin for the futurist interpretation of Revelation 21-22. Believers in the New Covenant still experience sickness, sorrow and physical death. Especially due to its position following the White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:14), “no more death” must be taken literally, critics say. The world certainly still feels the effects of the Fall. In Romans 8, even Paul admits creation still groans. It is premature to claim the curse is removed while disease, thorns and natural disasters persist.

All valid.

But which curse?

Right. The same one seen in Isaiah 65; the law of sin and death. Yes, Revelation 21-22 is rife with new creation imagery. What do you expect? The removal of the old heavens and earth (the Mosaic Temple system) was earth-shattering for Jew and Gentile alike. The Jews had been living under it and failing for centuries. The Gentiles (law unto themselves) only knew spiritual darkness. We’ll address these concerns one at a time.

No more sea (Revelation 21:1); To a nation who identified herself as the place where heaven met earth, the teeming sea meant everyone else; Gentiles. Translation: In the New Covenant kingdom of God (a.k.a. the new heaven and new earth) there are no foreigners. The elitist dividing lines between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, and male and female were abolished. Now all are equal and one in Christ (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 12:13). See my lesson on prophetic imagery for a deeper explanation.

Tears, death, mourning, crying and pain all removed (Revelation 21:4); Here John is quoting Isaiah 25:7-8 when he declares “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” Isaiah 25 begins by

  • exalting God as both refuge and righteous judge, and then shows us
  • an image of the marriage supper of the Lamb (v6),
  • the abolition of death and disgrace (v7-8),
  • the celebration of salvation (v9) and the
  • judgment of a people symbolized by the prideful, carnal nation of Moab, whereby its “high-walled fortress will be brought down” (v12).

Pause. When was salvation inaugurated? When was righteousness received? When was the veil between God and His people removed? When was it taught that:

35 “…those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:35-36)?

Notice it is those who are considered worthy to attain who cannot die anymore. And who taught that:

50 “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh” (John 6:50-51)?

Is that you, saint? Have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior? Have you accepted Him into yourself as you have partaken in the bread and wine of His New Covenant, His body and blood? Has His Spirit taken up residence in you as His pledge to you that you belong to Him? If so, maybe we can stand together with our sister Martha and believe Jesus when He says:

25 “…I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die…” (John 11:25-26)?

For now, we enter immediately into the presence of the Lord upon throwing off these tents; no longer do we go down to the pit of Sheol, Abraham’s Bosom, also known as Paradise, to await our redemption for redemption has come! Therefore, we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our Lord has promised in this world we will have trouble but we are to take heart; He has overcome the world (John 16:33)! “We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). We are “unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Just as we saw in Isaiah 65, the prophetic idiom here carries the covenantal flavor. If apocalyptic, sky-is-falling imagery is employed by heaven to describe day of the Lord national judgments, new creation imagery is used to paint the feeling of life and life abundant around the New Covenant.

Finally, if Isaiah 25 declares the arrival of the New Covenant kingdom (and it does), the destruction of the walled city in verse 12 probably happened right around the same time—say maybe with the 70 AD destruction of the walled city of Jerusalem (symbolically “Moab” here).

All things made new; And we’re back to Isaiah 65!

“For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)

But this isn’t the first time Isaiah has spoken about all things being made new. Enter Isaiah 43.

18 “Do not call to mind the former things;
pay no attention to the things of old.
19 Behold, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
20 The beasts of the field will honor Me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to My chosen people.” (Isaiah 43:18-20)

If that feels “New Covenant new creation”, it should! This should absolutely remind us of the rivers of living water offered by Jesus (John 4:14, 7:37-39) and seen in Revelation 22:1-2, which pulls its scene directly from Ezekiel 47:1-12, especially verse 12 (cf. Zechariah 14:8-9). It’s Ezekiel that offers us the source material for Jesus’ words to Peter and Andrew: “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17). Again, New Covenant. Even Paul draws this line when he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17; cf. Galatians 6:15).

Seeing the Israel of God (Galatians 4)

Galatians 4:22-31 illustrates the division between Old Covenant Judaism and the New Covenant sect of Judaism, now known as Christianity:

22 “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 This is an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai bearing to bondage, is Hagar. 25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and represents Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (v22-26)

Paul is drawing a clear division between two covenants: The covenant of bondage and works—the Mosaic Law—given at Sinai, represented by Hagar, Ishmael, and earthly, unbelieving Jerusalem, and the covenant of freedom and promise—the New Covenant—first given to Abraham, preceding Sinai and secured through faith in Christ. He drives this home when he declares “the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son” (Galatians 4:30) and “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse” (Galatians 3:10).

When writing the church in Rome, Paul again contrasts the two covenants:

6 “It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, ‘Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.’ 8 So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.” (Romans 9:6-8)

Has God Rejected Israel? (Romans 11)

Paul goes on to expound on the importance of faith in Christ which leads to “no difference between Jew and Greek […] ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:12-13). As we’ve covered, Paul then points to the fulfillment of Isaiah 65 in the New Covenant currently under way at the time of his writing.

With Paul drawing all these distinctions between ethnic Israel and spiritual Israel, between ethnic Jews and spiritual Jews, between circumcision of the flesh versus circumcision of the heart, you would think we would be well tuned by the time we arrive in Romans 11, however the debate rages on: has God rejected the nation of Israel?

At the time Paul is writing, Jerusalem still thrives, and the Temple still stands. His answer is simple: Has God rejected His people? Far from it! But again, here in Romans 11:1-6, he draws yet another separation between national Israel and faithful Israel! Paul points to 1 Kings 19:18, where God shows the despairing prophet Elijah there was yet a faithful remnant of 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Ba’al in Israel. He anchors us in verse five: “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” He is referring to the faithful among national Israel!

In a fifth illustration of separation, Paul uses the imagery of a cultivated olive tree (representing God’s holy people), where Gentiles are branches of a wild olive tree having been grafted in, and hard-hearted unbelieving Jews are branches broken off (Romans 11:16-24). And yet, the conditional promise to the Jewish nation is this:

They also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. (Romans 11:23)

This “if” is important. “If they do not continue in their unbelief [in the Son sent by the Father, Jesus the Christ]” they will be restored to God. Indeed, it seems even John the Baptist felt his natural heritage counted for little:

“Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” (Luke 3:8)

Well, it seems John felt natural Israel was easily replaced—by rocks. He admonished the religious leaders to bear the fruit of a repentant heart. Yet for many Jews, clinging to their national identity offered an assurance that eclipsed even their pursuit of the Father. Hear too, Jesus’ words to the crowd in John 8:47, “He that is of God hears God’s words. Therefore, you do not hear them because you are not of God.”

This brings us to the popular trouble spot…

How Will All Israel be Saved? (Romans 11:26)

25 “…a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved;” (Romans 11:25-26)

It’s here it’s often asked, “How will all Israel be saved?” This debate falls into two camps:

  • those who believe “all Israel” means the whole geopolitical nation of modern-day Israel, and
  • those who remain consistent with Paul’s well-established dividing line: spiritual Israel, the faithful remnant that includes both Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.

Dispensational interpretation; The first position is more of a “natural-now”, dispensational lens that often places the current, physical nation of Israel in a last-days revival, usually following a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church and the premillennial inauguration of a 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ on earth, though variations on this theme exist. “All Israel”, therefore, is taken to mean the current nation of Israel will come to a saving faith in Christ at some point in the future.

Covenantal interpretation; The second, “faithful remnant” lens takes more of a covenantal “kingdom of God”, “My kingdom is not of this world” position, leaning into Paul’s spiritual Israel of believers that—according to heaven’s perspective—continues to grow by faith, generation-by-generation, like the mustard seed that grows into a large tree (Matthew 13:31-32). “All Israel” here means the full roster of faithful elect who will find their names recorded in the Book of Life will be received, from the first Adam to the return of the Last (Revelation 20:11-13).

Beyond being out-of-step with Paul’s steady bifurcation throughout Romans, the natural-now perspective seems to have another flaw: it fails to understand the finality of verse 25’s “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”. Seen in Luke’s telling of the Olivet Discourse, the times of the Gentiles began with the fall of Jerusalem and the ending of the Mosaic Temple system, whereby “Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). Suffice it to say, the city of Jerusalem is still well-occupied by Gentile citizens today. This is the “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” Paul refers to in Romans 11:25 (cf. Galatians 4:4).

So then, we have two epochs, or times, in view: one belonging to the Jews, whom Jesus calls “the first”, and one belonging to the Gentiles, “the last” (Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30). Nowhere else in the Word are there other times in view! Once the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, that seems to mark the end of “this present evil age” and the beginning of “the age to come”; the glorified state, post-resurrection and judgment.

Alas, the natural-now position calls for another time of prominence for the Jewish nation, which conflicts with Christ’s prediction that, “The kingdom of God will be taken away and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43). He never once mentions national Israel would again host the kingdom of God. Is salvation available to them? Of course! Romans 11:23 promises, “If they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” The apostle John confirms this when he says,

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life (blessing). Instead, the wrath of God remains on him (curse).” (John 3:36)

Objection: God’s gifts and calling [to Israel] are irrevocable

Some quote Romans 11:28-29 as a challenge to the idea Paul’s “all Israel” reference applies to a faithful remnant among Israel:

28 “Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. 29 For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.”

They say this language shows God has the whole geopolitical nation in mind. They might also point to Romans 11:26 and declare it unfulfilled.

“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” (quoting Isaiah 27:9, 59:20-21; also LXX)

They agree the Deliverer (the Messiah) has come out of Zion, but since national Israel still suffers from ungodliness, the second portion of this prophecy remains open.

Alas, the challenge lies not with a lack of prophetic fulfillment but with interpretation.

Does “all Israel” apply to unbelieving Jews who reject the Messiah? Certainly not. Paul has already made the argument clear none are saved by their nationality nor works, but only by belief in Christ. Furthermore, Paul is not pointing to a future redemption for Israel (though he says it’s certainly available if they turn to Christ), but the present redemption available at the time of his writing.

Removing ungodliness is a New Covenant promise, as seen in Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy where the end of sin and reconciliation for inequity is promised as a condition of the Messianic era. This was fulfilled in Christ’s atonement at the cross. Finally, if all Israel is not of Israel, certainly we can understand Zion and Jacob can also be idioms for the faithful seed of Abraham at times.

If “all Israel will be saved” must mean all ethnic Jews, plenty are lost unsaved every day—and have been for almost 2,000 years. Therefore, “all Israel” must mean all believers, whether Jew or Gentile, across all generations.

Still More Objections

Especially in this season of Church history where imminent “left behind” eschatology has been elevated to near salvific levels, we would do ourselves a disservice to ignore some common arguments.

Objection: The bride of Christ is not the Church

Remarkably, there are some who teach the bride of Christ is not the Church.

First, they argue if the Church is considered the body of Christ, and if Christ is the bridegroom, it doesn’t compute that He would marry His body. Of course, as we’ve already seen in this lesson, covenantal marriage is two becoming one flesh, so this imagery is actually quite consistent. Paul illustrates this in Ephesians 5:22-33 where he explains, “The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body” (v23), and husbands are to “love their wives as their own bodies for he who loves his own wife loves himself” (v28). Paul ends by quoting Genesis 2:24,

30 “For we are members of His body. 31 For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.” (v30-32)

Pretty clear, right? Paul calls this image a “mystery” (mysterion, Strong’s 3466), indicating it is a divine secret now revealed. Earthly marriage was always intended to point to this spiritual oneness.

What’s more, we were already told in Revelation 19 the bride of the Lamb is composed of the saints, for it is their righteous deeds that adorn her:

7 “‘...the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.’ 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

It’s here some eschatological models gasp for breath and declare these are the Tribulation saints in view, born out of a future Jewish revival during seven years of Antichrist-inspired hell on earth. When speaking to the first-century Church, however, Paul seems to disagree:

“I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2; bethrothed, past tense)

Nor was John the only one to apply the “heavenly Jerusalem” imagery to the body of saints. In Hebrews 12, writing to a Jewish audience, the author overlays the images of Mount Zion and heavenly Jerusalem—representing the faithful people of God—and knits in the angels, the captives freed from paradise, Father God, the saints, and the Son.

22 “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

Objection: New Jerusalem is still future

Yet, even in the face of Hebrews’ “you have come to the city…the heavenly Jerusalem” (past tense, you’re there, you’ve already arrived), some say, “The New Jerusalem descends to the new earth, not the sinful old. She arrives following the marriage supper of the Lamb, and that hasn’t happened yet. New Jerusalem, the bride in Revelation 21, is still future!”

Is she?

Well, I suppose she would be if we were still waiting for Jesus to take His throne, as some think.

Or, if we are yet waiting for an earthly millennial reign to begin, even though Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Family, we have already received the “kingdom that cannot be moved” (Hebrews 12:28). And didn’t John see a reigning Christ in his vision? That’s not future; that’s now.

Or, we might take New Jerusalem to be future if we’re not aware that heaven and earth passing away can be a Jewish reference to Rome’s 70 AD dismantling of the physical Holy of Holies, the Temple rites, and—by association, Israel’s religious leadership and the nation. It was the Temple, after all, where heaven literally met earth, and it lay at the heart of Jewish worship and Israel’s identity as the chosen people of God.

Why would there need to be leaves of a tree “for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2) present in a recreated heaven and earth where there was no longer any sin, sickness or suffering? After the wicked had been cast into the fire at the end of Revelation 20? And yet, the wicked here are still sinning outside the city, New Jerusalem:

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates. 15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” (Revelation 22:14-15)

And in Revelation 22:17, the invitation to the thirsty to come and drink the water of life? How are any thirsty? This all points to the Gospel age in which we find ourselves, where Christ’s New Covenant kingdom offers healing to the world, renewal to the thirsty and a dividing line between the wheat and the tares.

Objection: The New Creation follows the Final Judgment

Some folks point at the linear placement of Revelation’s new heaven and earth chapters. They say since Revelation 21 and 22 follow the final judgment of Revelation 20 spatially, we must also assume they follow chronologically. After all, the previous creation fled from the One on the throne “and no place was found for them” (Revelation 20:11).

Furthermore, if these chapters portray the present New Covenant age, it implies the global resurrection, final judgment, and second death have already occurred. This position qualifies as “full preterism” and is largely deemed heretical by mainstream orthodoxy since it denies a future bodily resurrection.

Yes, it’s true: In the narrative flow of Revelation, these chapters on the new heaven and new earth follow the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. However, though we humans tend toward the linear, God is not bound by any such constraints. Just as we see recapitulation in the first two chapters of Genesis, we see a recapitulative epilogue in these last two chapters of Revelation. Unglorified human history absolutely ends in Revelation 20—and we’re not there yet.

As we’ve learned in this lesson, the New Jerusalem imagery we find in Revelation 21 and 22 directly mirrors Isaiah 65’s new heaven and earth. This is the prophetic re-creation imagery used by heaven to portray the life and life abundant delivered by Jesus of Nazareth. It is the exact inverse of the de-creation imagery we find around the day of the Lord judgments throughout both Old and New Testaments, and equal in cosmic color.

Objection: Revelation’s Late Date vs Early Date Tension

Many scholars date the writing of Revelation around 95 AD, tied to the reign of Domitian. If this date is correct, John wrote about these events as “what must soon take place” years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This timing would seem to invalidate the idea these chapters describe a new order established at the fall of the Jewish Temple.

Alas, what these same scholars are often not aware of is that Domitian reigned twice! Upon the violent removal of Vitellius during the Year of Four Emperors, 18-year old Domitian was thrust into the role of Caesar (“prince”, rather than Augustus or “emperor”) from 69-70 AD. Since his father Vespasian and older brother Titus were away fighting wars in Egypt and Judea, Domitian was the only Flavian present at Rome’s capital. The victorious legions and the Roman Senate formally saluted him as Caesar, whereby he moved into the imperial palace. From there, he became the acting head of the Roman state under the direction of Gaius Mucianus, Vespasian’s loyal general. When Vespasian finally arrived in Rome in the autumn of 70 AD to take full control, Domitian stepped down and assumed a ceremonial role for the next decade. His second official reign—this time as Emperor—wouldn’t begin until 81 AD. (See the Beast of Revelation lesson to go deeper.)

A Warning Toward Humility

Lest we modern Christians—especially those subscribing to a “victorious eschatology”, as in postmillennialism—proudly declare, “Look! We carried the kingdom over the finish line where Israel couldn’t!” let us be humbly reminded of these words about the last days from Isaiah 26:18:

“We were with child; we writhed in pain;
but we gave birth to wind.
We have given no salvation to the earth,
nor brought any life into the world.”

This failure to succeed where Israel also failed is furthered by the image of the “camp of the saints” being surrounded by the world, as seen in Revelation 20:9. This prediction about the world turning against the people of God in the last days should not come as any surprise considering how all the known land—the pagan Roman empire, including even unbelieving Israel herself—turned against the people of God in the first century.

In all of this, we recognize “none are good but the Father” and our salvation—a gift by God’s grace, delivered through reverent fear and trembling faith—will not be received by our good works; none will boast (Ephesians 2:9).

And so, our Lord’s haunting question stands: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8) Unfortunately, I don’t know. But we are to occupy until He returns, so you’re not off the hook. Get to work.

We Do

As we close this lesson, I want to recognize it is woefully impossible to paint an adequate picture of the depth and vastness of the implications we’re brushing up against. Oneness with God? We can read it, we can claim it, but in our mortality, we’re still living out of a blindness that will never fully grasp it. And so, our Creator offers us metaphors and symbols, beginning with marriage and blood covenant. Robes, names, and blood are exchanged. A shared meal declares an unbreakable promise of intimacy, protection and provision. From Genesis to Revelation, this is the story God sings over His people.

Has God cast off Israel? Paul’s answer: No, He has not, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable and salvation is available to all who believe. The seed of promise was never about flesh, but faith (Romans 9:6-8). Is all Israel of Israel? And will all Israel be saved? We found both questions answered by a faithful remnant, gathered from every nation who calls upon the name of the Lord, a kingdom that grows from generation to generation.

The Old Testament’s bridal imagery flows directly into the Church as bride in the New. Descending from heaven, this New Jerusalem does not replace Israel's hope but fulfills it. She is not a distant dream, but a bride who has already received her promise. The righteous acts of the saints adorn her, granted to her by grace and worn by faith. She is the place where God dwells with His people. The old covenant order has been removed, the new heavens and new earth are here, and the gates of the Church stand open for the healing of the world.

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who desires the water of life drink freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

Remember: It’s the truth that sets you free.

 

Footnotes

[4] This imagery of redemption, justification and purity is also seen in Zechariah’s vision of Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Lord and having his filthy clothes exchanged for royal robes (Zechariah 3:3-5) and in Isaiah 61:10’s “robe of righteousness”.

[5] Acts 9:2: Saul asks for letters to find any who belonged to “the Way”; Acts 19:9: Some spoke evil of “the Way” before the congregation; Acts 19:23: In Ephesus, a large disturbance arose concerning “the Way”; Acts 22:4: Paul admits he persecuted “the Way” to the death; Acts 24:14: Paul admits to Felix that he worships God according to “the Way,” which others call a sect; Acts 24:22: Felix, having a closer knowledge of “the Way,” puts Paul off.

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