Waiting....
The whole viewpoint originates in a misunderstanding of who Israel is.
Historically, Israel was the ten-tribed Northern Kingdom. Legally
speaking, the name was given to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of
Joseph, and only those who were in unity with those tribes had the right
to call themselves by the name of Israel.
When Israel was deported to Assyria as the result of their sin, the prophets
gave them comfort and spoke of a future restoration. That restoration would
occur under the Messiah. In that restoration, both Israel and Judah would be
reunited under "one Head" (Hos. 1:11), Jesus Christ.
When we come to the New Testament, we find that the Messiah was rejected.
He could only be accepted as part of the reunification of Israel and Judah, for
He was the Repairer of the breach (Isaiah 58:12). Yet in the first century, the
Israelites were known to be "beyond Euphrates," as Josephus says. They had
not returned to the old land, and they were NOT united with Judah.
In other words, there were serious problems with men's understanding of the
prophecies, for the truth only dawned on them slowly and painfully. The key
to understanding was bound up in the fact that God was using the breach
between Israel and Judah as a pretext to repair a deeper breach at the same
time. This was the breach that had occurred at the beginning between God
and Adam.
Further, in going back to the origins of the problem, He also began to restore
the original definitions of Judah and Israel. Recall that Israel was the name
(or title) given to Jacob when he wrestled with the angel. It was not originally
a racial term, nor even a national term. It was a name-title that testified of the
new level of FAITH that Jacob had attained when the sovereignty of God was
revealed to him. All of his life he had fought for the birthright by the arm of flesh.
I believe, in fact, when he was fighting the angel, he thought he was fighting
Esau--until the angel did something supernatural. It was at that point he realized
that he was actually fighting God, because he had been unable to see God in
Esau.
It is only when we are able to see the face of God in our greatest enemy that we
truly understand the sovereignty of God. The next day when Jacob met Esau, he
was able to say in Gen. 33:10, "I see your face as one sees the face of God."
Jacob had become an Israelite.
In the ultimate sense, no one is an Israelite apart from this level of revelation,
regardless of race or nationality. On the other hand, anyone can become an
Israelite by receiving the same revelation, for this is the key to being an
overcomer.
Likewise, to be a Judahite ("Jew") is not ultimately a matter of genealogy but
of FAITH that brings a change of heart. Paul understood this when he wrote
in Rom. 2:28, 29,
(28) For he is NOT a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is
circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. (29) But
he IS a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and
his PRAISE is not from men, but from God.
Paul tells us who is a Jew and who is not a Jew ( "of Judah"). The name Judah
means "praise." So Paul says that a real Jew is one whose PRAISE is from God,
not men. It is a play on words to show that one's identification with Judah comes
from God, and it has nothing to do with how men identify themselves.
In other words, a Jew by God's definition is a believer in Jesus Christ, who is the
rightful Heir to the throne of David and the Scepter of Judah. Those who reject the
King are cut off from the tribe itself.
Likewise, an Israelite is not ultimately one who can claim genealogy from the old
tribes, but is one who is an overcomer.
Logabe