True Israel by Gertrude Battle (Used by permission)

l. An Israelite Indeed

A. What did Jesus call Nathaniel? John 1:47

An Israelite indeed. What did He mean by that expression?

B.How many kinds of Jews are there? Rom. 2:28, 29

Jews outwardly and Jews inwardly. What is a Jew outwardly?
The national Jew that you and I see today. A Jew inwardly must be an Israelite indeed.

C. Just because one descends from Abraham, does that mean that He is a child of God or an Israelite? Who are the children of God? Rom. 9:6-8

The children of God are the children of the promise.

II.Promise of Abraham

A. What was the promise? Gen. 13:14,15

That Abraham and his seed, or descendants, would inherit the land which he was asked to view.

B. How much land did this include? Rom. 4:13

It included the whole world.

C. On what basis was the promise made? Rom. 4:16

On faith, that all might share in it. Abraham is called father of us all.

Note: In Rom.4:13 , 16 Paul is referring to the law of inheritance. Num. 27 The Jews believed they were automatically God s chosen people and inherited the kingdom of heaven through Abraham, their literal father.

D. How did Paul make this clear? Gal. 3:7-9 ; 29

If you are a true Christian, then you are a child of Abraham by faith, and heir of the promise.

E. How did Jesus verity this? John 8:37-39 ; Read verses 37-44.

Jesus recognized that they were the seed of Abraham, physically. However, they were trying to kill Him, and Abraham would never have done that. He also indicated that they had different fathers. They became indignant and said, Abraham is our father. But Jesus told them that if they were Abraham s children, they would do the works of Abraham, indicating they were not his children by faith. See Lesson 19 THE NEW BIRTH.

III. The Name of Israel

A. Where did the name Israel come from or originate? Gen.32:24-28

When Jacob left home after deceiving his father and brother, he was converted and yielded his heart to God on the way to his Uncle Laban s home. During his stay with Laban he developed a Christian character and was no longer the deceitful person he had been. God had promised that He would be able to go back to his father and home once more. On his way home he heard that Esau was coming to meet him with an army. It frightened him and he went off by himself to pray. While he was praying, someone began to struggle with him. Not until his assailant touched his thigh and his hip was put out of joint did Jacob realize that it was no ordinary person with whom he was wrestling. It was the Lord Himself. See verse 30. Then he held on to the Lord until he received the promise that God had forgiven him for his past sins and would help him. (See account of this in Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 195-203.) Tell the story briefly in your own words. Because Jacob s nature had changed, God changed his name from one that meant a deceiver to Israel, one that meant he was a prince , the son of a king, or an overcomer, a victor over his sinful nature. All of God s people are Israelites, no matter what they are, Jew or Gentile. It is a character name.

B. To whom besides Abraham was the promise? Gen. 26:3,4 ; 28:13,14

To Isaac and to Jacob, and through them to all of God's people down through the centuries.

C. How much of this promise was fulfilled before they died? Acts 7:2-5 ; Heb. 11:13

None. Abraham had to buy a cave from a heathen prince in which to bury his wife, Sarah, when she died. They all died believing the promise but saw its fulfillment in the future.

D.What did they look forward to? Heb. 11:16 , 10

To the New City, the Holy Jerusalem, built by God, not this one here in Palestine today.

IV. The Promise Given on Condition

A. On what condition were the promises made to ancient Israel? Deut. 28:1, 2 , 15

All the promises were based on condition of obedience. If they obeyed God, all the promises would be fulfilled; other-wise, curses would come upon them as a result of their disobedience.

B. Among other things, what would happen to them? Deut. 28:64

They would be scattered all over the world. Verse 37 They would become a byword among the nations. These things we see fulfilled before our own eyes. It is a marvel today that they still exist as strongly as they do, with all the persecution they have had.

C. What is the question in the minds of many today? Deut. 29:24-27

Why have they had to suffer so much? The answer is because they have forsaken their only Saviour.

D. What warning did the prophet Jeremiah give to the people of God? Jer. 19:1-3

Jeremiah was to call all the leaders of the people together and rebuke them for their sins and to warn them of the curse that would come upon them as a result.

E. What kind of a visual aid did he use to illustrate their fate? Jer. 19:10,11

He was told to take a bottle and break it before the people. Just as he could not put that bottle back together again, so God was going to scatter His people over the earth. There is no promise in the Bible anywhere that the Jewish nation will ever be gathered in Palestine again and they will be God s chosen people again. See Matt.21:33-43 ; Acts 13:46, 47.

V. Final Fate of the Jewish Nation as a Nation

A. What is to be their final fate? Deut. 28:45

They will be destroyed. This means, of course, as a nation of people.

B. Although national Israel lost its position as God's chosen people, can Jews as individuals be saved? Deut. 4:29-31 ; Gal. 3:28

An individual can be saved by accepting Christ as his Saviour, whether he is a Jew or a Gentile. Rom. 1:16 ; 10:12,13

C. How was this illustrated by Paul to the Romans? Rom. 11:17-23

Read this in either the R.S.V., Phillips, or the New English Bible. All three are clearer than the Kings James version. This is a warning to the Gentile not to boast against those Jews who have been cut off, for they, the Gentiles, can be cut off for the same reason. Some may say that the Jews were cut off that the Gentiles might be saved, but the Jews were cut off for their unbelief. It was not because God hated them, but because He still loved them. He knew that if the Gentiles were given the Gospel, they, in turn, would take it to the Jews and some of them would be saved also.

VI. Final Gathering of True Israel

A. Will God s people ever be gathered together again? Isa. 11:11 Jer. 23:3

Yes. God s people are scattered all over the world today, in every land, in every church in the world, and even among the heathen. But some day He will gather them all together into one fold. See John 10:16.

B. Where do the ones who are sealed by God come from? Rev. 7:1-4

From the twelve tribes of Israel. (We are not going to discuss the sealing work at this time but only want to establish from whence they came.) Even as Jacob's name, Israel, was a character name, so are also his son s names. There are twelve gates to the New Jerusalem, and each of us will be going through one of those gates and will belong to one of those tribes. These are Israelites indeed , Jews inwardly.

C. How many Israelites will be saved? Rom. 11:26 ; Isa. 45:17 R.S.V

All of them, all Israelites indeed, all Jews inwardly.

Extra Text: Gal. 3:29 - If ye be Christ s then are ye Abraham s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

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Updated 6/19/2006 by Kim Rollins