National Salvation of Israel

When Paul wrote in Rom. 11:15, "all Israel will be saved," he was speaking nationally, not personally, even though in the end all certainly will be saved.

Modern Christian Zionists often confuse the personal with the national, while trying to juggle this with their doctrine of eternal torment for the lost. With their premise that the Jews are Israel, they often conclude that God intends to save every Jew, or that every Jew is saved regardless of his belief in Christ. Such thinking ends up with salvation being meted out unequally by virtue of one's race.

Others take a step closer to the truth by recognizing that "Israel" is national, rather than personal. But these Christian Zionists, thinking that the Jews are Israel, do not contemplate the conflict between the cursed fig tree of Judah and the promise in Isaiah 27:6 that "Israel will blossom and sprout and will fill the whole world with fruit." Thus, in their confusion, they are forced to pick and choose which prophecy is valid and which is not. Naturally, they choose to apply Isaiah 27:6 to the present Jewish state, so-called Israel.

In saying that that Judah has replaced Israel, they introduce a modern twist on Replacement Theology.

They even go so far as to interpret Matt. 24:32 to mean that the cursed fig tree will again bear fruit, when it actually tells us only that it will come to life and bring forth more leaves. If it were to bring forth fruit, this alone would make Jesus a false prophet. But to a Christian Zionist, this is preferable to seeing the Israeli state destroyed by the divine judgment prophesied in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi.

So what is the true fulfillment of these prophecies? It starts with a basic understanding of how Jacob distributed the provisions of the Birthright to his sons back in Genesis 48 and 49. In Genesis 48:13-20, Jacob gave the Birthright to Joseph's sons, putting Ephraim over Manasseh by crossing his arms. Thus, Ephraim, whose name is plural for "fruitfulness," is the primary one to watch in the fulfillment of the Birthright's provisions.

Primarily, he received the Fruitfulness Mandate, which was the divine mandate first given to Adam to "be fruitful and multiply." It was the command to bring forth the sons of God. This is the true fruitfulness that God is looking for in a nation.

Judah received the scepter (Gen. 49:10) and the promise to produce the Messiah. It is the Dominion Mandate, first given in Gen. 1:26, "let them have dominion." Thus, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, so that this tribe could fulfill its national destiny. But Judah was not the one through whom the Fruitfulness Mandate would be fulfilled. That promise was given to Ephraim, son of Joseph.

In 1 Chron. 5:1, 2 it is made clear that after Jacob divided these two mandates between Judah and Ephraim, the Fruitfulness Mandate became known as the Birthright. The Dominion Mandate was separated from the Birthright. And so, Ephraim (nationally speaking) is the one through whom the sons of God will be manifested--NOT Judah.

This separation of the Scepter from the Birthright necessitated two comings of Christ. His first coming was to fulfill the promise to Judah; the second coming fulfills His promise to Ephraim (or Joseph).

No one can truly understand the second coming of Christ without some knowledge of its prophetic purpose. In His first coming, He qualified as King to receive the Scepter of Judah. For this reason the sign was placed over His head on the cross: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Judeans. It was written in three languages (John 19:20). The Hebrew read, Yehoshua Hanatzri Vemelech Hayhoodem, whose acronym was YHVH.

The Jewish leaders objected, but Pilate would not relent. It was his idea of "sticking it to them" for forcing him to allow the crucifixion against his better judgment.

The second coming of Christ is primarily for the purpose of manifesting the sons of God through Joseph-Ephraim. In regard to the second coming, Rev. 19:13 says, "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood." Joseph's robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:31). As I showed in my book, The Laws of the Second Coming, there were two doves in Lev. 14 that prophesied of the two comings of Christ. The first was killed, and the second was dipped in the blood of the first, and released into the open field. The first dove prophesied of Christ's death work, while the second prophesied of His second coming--the release into the open field. "The field is the world" (Matt. 13:38).

All of these prophecies show Joseph's connection with Jesus' second coming, and this establishes the distinct purpose of that second coming.

Even so, as I have shown in previous articles recently, the second coming will also tie up one loose end in regard to the Judah story. Recall that King David's throne was usurped by Absalom in a scene that prophesied of the New Testament story when Jesus' throne was usurped by the chief priests. King David's "second coming" has yet to be fulfilled in prophecy, wherein "Absalom" is killed, and David regains His throne from the usurpers. In the second coming, Christ will fulfill this part of the story.

At the same time, He will also take back His Birthright, which was usurped in 1948 by the descendants of the same people who usurped His throne. At that time, the usurpers will be stripped of the Birthright name, Israel. That title will be given to the Ephraimites whose right it is.

In my view, there will be two levels of fulfillment in this. On the highest level, the overcomers are the true Israelites. These will become the manifested sons of God. These are the ones who were justified by faith through Passover and who learned obedience through Pentecost. Having endured to the end (Heb. 10:36), they qualified to rule and reign with Christ in the Tabernacles Age to come, for the character of Christ was imprinted upon their hearts.

On a lower level, the Israelite NATIONS will receive the title of Israel and will be known once again by that name--once the counterfeit Israel is discovered to be a usurper. I believe that all nations which proclaim Jesus Christ as their King and agree to be obedient to His law will become part of the Stone Kingdom that grows until it eventually fills the whole earth (Dan. 2:35). Citizenship in these nations of the Stone Kingdom will be based upon faith in Jesus Christ, accepting Him as King, and agreeing to be obedient to His laws as administered by the overcomers.

This does not mean that these citizens will be perfected or immortal yet. Only the overcomers will be given immortality in the time of the first resurrection. There will thus be a kingdom that has perfect administrators, but their job will be to teach the rest of the people to be obedient. In other words, the citizens--all of whom will have experienced Passover--will need to become true Pentecostals by learning obedience. This is why they yet need governors and a law by which to govern them.

The Age to come will be an unprecedented time of learning and prosperity that comes when nations are governed by just laws and administered by those who have the mind of Christ. The blessings of obedience are listed in Deut. 28:1-13. As this Confederation of Kingdom Nations prospers in peace and justice, the other nations will see by example that this is the right way. They will send delegations to NEW "Zion" (Heb. 12:22), desiring to learn His laws and His ways (Isaiah 2:2-4).

Thus, at the time of the second coming of Christ, the sons of God will be manifested, usurpers will be replaced, the Stone Kingdom will be established, and an age of unprecedented world evangelism will be inaugurated.