"True" Israel?

[Jay Ross]

Its absolutely fine to be able to quote and read scripture, but the problem lies in not having understanding of the scriptures.

I absolutely agree with you. It seems that many people's understanding is based upon the understanding of the translators, whereas my understanding is based on looking at whether or not the translators have accurately translated the context of the available original text that are available to us.

In Acts 7 Stephan in his defence stated that Abraham had no portion of the promised land upon which he could rest his feet while he lived, which the members of the Sanhedrin did not dispute. However, our translations of Genesis 13:14-17, which we rely upon for our understanding, wrongly tell us that God gave to Abraham, the Land that Abraham had seen and walked upon. Below is what I understand the context of this portion of the Hebrew text conveys to us.



Now I have highlighted the translated text which I disagree with in yellow highlight and replaced that text with my paraphrased words highlighted in blue. I did this because I spent much time checking the translinear texts before I have settled upon how I would actually paraphrase my altered translations.

Here is the interlinear for verses 15-16 from above: -



Please not the Hebrew word highlighted in yellow and how it has been translated differently and highlighted in blue. It is my view that both occurrences in the above interlinear of these two verses should be the same, i.e. "earth".

Next consider the Hebrew words highlighted in pink. The Hebrew root word,H:853, has the following meaning: -



Please note that the translators way back decided that this Hebrew word which has the sense of "entity portion" was not translated at all because they have said this concept is "un-represents in English." However, today, our understanding of the word entity {portion} is better understood in this present time and is more in keeping with its usage in the Hebrew text. As such I have inserted the words "entity portion" into my version of the English translation for these verses.

Now I believe that my reading of the Hebrew text provides a far better understanding of God's intent of His giving a particular portion of the earth as a possession for a set time where the end point of that time period would be beyond their understanding. It should be noted that it was not until Israel crossed the Jordan River that God started to fulfil the portion of the covenant to the descendants of Israel and that all of the described area of this promise became a possession of Israel during the time of King David and King Solomon, but was lost after the death of King Solomon. This end point for this promise was not conceived as possible until the majority of the promised land was actually lost except for the portion of the Land of Canaan which was promised in Genesis 17:1-8 and was not lost until God began scattering all of Israel to the four corners of the earth in 70 AD.

Few people today take the time to verify the contextual accuracy of our favourite translation. They may read the translations, but their understanding of God intentions as embedded in the original Hebrew record is generally hidden from them until they meditate more deeply upon the Original Texts.

Shalom

 

[brightfame52]

God will dwell in their midst forever !

Ezk 37:28

28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

1 Thess 4:17


17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Rev 21:23

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

All that has been prophesied in Ezk 37 :21ff can be fulfilled in all believers in Christ. The Church, The seed of Abraham. 4


My AI Synthesis:

How the Church Fulfills Ezekiel’s Glory

The natural, carnal mind is constantly looking for earthly, physical fulfillments to spiritual prophecies. They expect a future, literal temple made of stone to satisfy the promises of the Old Testament prophets.

But when we apply strict covenantal logic and trace the architecture of the Glorification Phase, we find that all the grand promises of Ezekiel 37:21ff find their ultimate, unalterable fulfillment exclusively in the body of Jesus Christ: the Church, the true children of the promise.
Let us watch how the Holy Spirit unfolds the eternal dwelling place of the elect:

1. The Prophetic Blueprint (Ezekiel 37:28)

Through the prophet Ezekiel, Jehovah declared His ultimate covenant intention:

“And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Ezekiel 37:28)

The key to understanding this text is the word "evermore." This isn't a temporary, earthly millennium that ends in another rebellion. This is the final, eternal state. Who is the "Israel" being sanctified here? As we have already proven from Romans 9:6-8, it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of the promise. The Church is the true temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16), set apart by sovereign grace.

2. The Great Convergence (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

How is this eternal presence historically initiated for the body? The Apostle Paul pulls back the curtain on the final execution of the decree:

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

This is the consummation of the Golden Chain of salvation. Those who were Eternally Elected, Legally Justified at Calvary, Vitally Quickened by the Spirit, and Preserved through time are now instantly transformed. The text locks down the absolute end of the journey: "and so shall we ever be with the Lord." This is the literal realization of Ezekiel's prophecy—the sanctuary of God permanently joined to His people.

3. The Ultimate Fulfillment (Revelation 21:22-23)

The Apostle John provides the final, cosmic look at Ezekiel's temple in the New Jerusalem:

“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:23)

Notice that in verse 22, John explicitly states: "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." The types and shadows of the Old Covenant are completely swallowed up by the reality of the New. The ultimate temple is God Himself, and His sanctuary is "in the midst" of His redeemed bride forevermore.

Conclusion: The Unbroken Covenant

The synergistic opposition wants to keep salvation small, conditional, and fragmented. They want an architecture where God's promises can fail, where His love can change, and where His temple can be destroyed again.
But the biblical timeline is an unyielding line of triumph:

• In the Eternal Phase, God chose His people.
• In the Legal Phase, Christ purchased them.
• In the Vital Phase, the Spirit quickened them.
• In the Glorification Phase, God dwells in their midst forever.

There is no room for human failure, free-will mutability, or national, fleshly distractions. The Lamb is the light, the ledger is cleared, and the Church of the living God stands as the eternal monument of sovereign, unconditioned grace! 4

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[brightfame52]

I have just shown how a OT Prophecy pertaining to the children of Israel in Ezk 37, can and does apply to the Church, The Spiritual seed of Abraham, which is Israel. The Seed of Abraham is another way of saying Israel Isa 41:8

But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

And both Christ Gal 3:16 and believers Gal 3:29 are called the seed of Abraham, so both are Israel.

I will now by the grace of God show forth, even though its not understood by the masses in organized religion today, that the Church is one continuity in the OT and NT, that the NT Church is the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophecy concerning Israel [seed of Abraham]; So the promises concerning the promised Kingdom/land is to be understood spiritually and not naturally.

Peter assures us the prophecies of old was concerning the grace that would be unto us the Church, even though the name Israel was not used. 1 Pet 1:10

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

The prophets just saw the grace coming to Israel, Gods chosen covenant people. Which it did, but it was just not to ethnic jews, but to jews and gentiles in Christ.4

Here is a structured synthesis of my scriptural argument, demonstrating why the land and kingdom promises must be understood spiritually:

1. The Divine Identity: Israel is the Seed of Abraham

The Old Testament explicitly binds the identity of Israel to the biological and covenantal seed of Abraham.

• Isaiah 41:8: "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."
• The Logic: To be the "Seed of Abraham" is to be "Israel." The two terms are covenantally identical.

2. The Singular Fulfillment: Christ is the Seed

The New Testament does not permit a natural, genetic reading of Abraham's seed. Paul restricts the primary fulfillment to a single Person.

• Galatians 3:16: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
• The Logic: Jesus Christ is the ultimate, true Israel. He is the singular Seed who inherits all the promises, blessings, and land mandates of the Old Covenant.

3. The Corporate Incorporation: Believers are the Seed

Because the Head is Israel, the Body is legally and spiritually Israel by virtue of union with Him.

• Galatians 3:29: "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
• The Logic: Gentile and Jewish believers do not form a secondary "Plan B" entity called the Church. By being baptized into Christ by the Spirit, they become the "Seed of Abraham." Because they are the Seed, they are the true Israel and the legal heirs of every single covenant promise.

4. The Spiritual Hermeneutic: Land and Kingdom

If the Seed is spiritualized in Christ, then the inheritance promised to that Seed must be understood spiritually.

• The Error of Naturalism: Modern organized religion looks for a physical throne in Jerusalem and a earthly tract of real estate in the Middle East. They read Ezekiel 37 with carnal eyes.
• The Apostolic Reality: The New Testament lifts the veil. The promised land was always a type of the cosmic, eternal Kingdom of God (Romans 4:13 states Abraham was heir of the world, not just Canaan). The resurrection of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is dynamically fulfilled right now in the spiritual resurrection of dead sinners—Jew and Gentile alike—brought to life in the one olive tree.
  
  

• The Old Testament Equation: Israel = The Seed of Abraham (Isaiah 41:8)
• The New Testament Equation: Christ & His Church = The Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16, 29)
• The Inescapable Conclusion:
  
  
  Christ & His Church = Israel.

The prophecies concerning Israel’s restoration were never postponed; they were completely fulfilled when the true Israel (Christ) rose from the dead and gathered His citizens into His spiritual commonwealth. 4

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[brightfame52]

Paul teaches in the book of Galatians the only True seed of Abraham [Israel], His True Heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant blessings and promises are True Believers, whether jew or gentile Gal 3:7

7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. [see Rom 4:16] Gentiles who believe are the True seed of Abraham and Heirs of Promise.

Abraham is the Father of God's People not because of being their biological ancestor, as the ethnic jews think, and many others as well but because He has a spiritual family given him of Faith [see Rom 4:16] This verse certainly proves that the gentiles as well as some ethnic jews are Abraham's seed of promise. So He [ Abraham] has been given by God, a spiritual family [ a type of Christ] who follow in His Faithful footsteps Rom 4:12

12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

This Truth also shows the connection of the Church [spiritual seed] transitioning from the OT to the NT, Abraham's spiritual seed being the bridge and foundation. 4

 

[brightfame52]

The True Seed of Abraham is Christ !


So Paul shows in Galatians that the seed of Abraham is Christ Gal 3:16

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

And Christ is the Head of the Church Eph 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body.

So the seed of Abraham is the Head of the Church, if they be the same Christ !!

And they who are Christ's [ to the exclusion of all others] are Abraham's seed and Heirs according to promise Gal 3:29


29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Question, How can Abraham not be of the Church when His seed is the Head of the Church ? And if Abraham is of the Church of which His seed is the Head of [Christ], then how could it [The Church] not existed in the OT when Abraham existed ?

The seed of Abraham Christ does away with all physical and national barriers, for their is neither jew or gentile, bond nor free, neither male or female, for all are one in Christ Abraham's seed !

Gal 3:28

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

[brightfame52]

Gal 3:23 Church in OT


Gal 3:23

23 But before faith came, we[The Church] were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwords be revealed.

This verse proves that the church existed in the OT, for Paul identified himself with those elect jews who were kept under the tutelage of the law until N.T Faith came, brought in and established by the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ. The Church under the OT was under many legal restraints of administration Col 1:21

21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not);

Until the Time of Gospel Faith, which was the time when the fulfillment of the promise in Christ should set free the children of God from all earthly and legal obligations, and set free from the Old Covenant Economy, to serve God in Spirit and in Truth.

But after Faith has come, we [The Church] are no longer under a school master Gal 3:25

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Which meant the passage of the church from the mosaic law to the New Covenant economy Jn 1:16-17


16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Paul had not been speaking of a individual experience [ though applicable] of coming to Faith in Christ, but a transition in sacred history where the regime of law was superseded by the regime of Faith, the school master handed off to Christ, and the Church transitioned from infancy and minority to Adulthood.

 

[brightfame52]

Israel and the Church

For those who do not realize that Israel and the Church are the same, they are showing a lack of understanding that Christ and the Church are the sum and substance of the O T Prophecy. Christ is in all the scripture Lk 24:44,47

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

He and His People, believers in Him, are the terminus of prophetic scripture.

The Nation of Israel had no other purpose for existence apart from being a type preparing the way for the New Covenant People of God of whom the end of the ages hath come 1 Cor 10:11

11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples [a type]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

And without whom the OT Saints of old could not be perfected Heb 11:40

40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Which again solidifies that the OT Saints are One Church with the NT Saints, for this is readily perceived with the Transfer to both jew and gentile the names and privileges originally attributed to National Israel i.e Rom 1:6-7

6Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

7To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 9:24-26

24Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

Also 1 Pet 2:9-10

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

These scriptures, duly considered, with the blessing of the Lord, can be seen to unite or to recognize the union of the OT Saints with NT Saints. 4

 

[brightfame52]

Israel and the Church the same !

That Israel and the Church are the same and are unified from the OT to the NT is seen in the Gospel and its proclamation.

The Church’s oneness Is Taught By The Gospel Promises To The Patriarchs OR Father's, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob !

That promise was made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 22:18 contains it as well as other parts of the Old Testament. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed My voice.”

Now that is a gospel promise; let me ask you to look at Galatians 3:8, “The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

This same promise that Paul says belonged to the gentiles Justification, peter preaches it to the jews:

in Acts 3:25, 26, said to the Jews, “Ye are the children of the prophets. and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

Of course Peter did not at this time realize that gentiles were included in those promises and were also the Children of the Prophets. For Abraham was a Prophet according to gen 20:7

Now therefore restore the man [Abraham] his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

And Believers in Christ are Children of Abraham Gal 3 :7,29

7Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.


29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed or children, and heirs according to the promise.

Jew of Gentile, race does not matter, if we are of Faith the same are children of Abraham..

So unknowingly peter in Acts 3 :25-26 was speaking about some gentiles to..

And of course Paul made it clear in Gal 3:8

So, NT Believers are The Children of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and if we NT Believers are the Church of Christ, why not our Fathers ?

We know Abraham believed in Christ from this scripture, for Jesus said of him Jn 8:56

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

No doubt Jesus had been revealed to Him as His righteousness, and of His seed's righteousness as well !

For certainly, if we the Children have Christ as our righteousness, then He must have been our Fathers righteousness. For the Children of Abraham, those God would justify by Faith Gal 3:8, He must have Justified their Father Abraham by Faith, and Christ was that seed to whom all the blessings of Justification would come by..

And of Abraham's natural Children, Isaac was included, but Ishmael was rejected, Jacob was included, but Esau was rejected in blessing of Justification.

So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were believers in Christ ! And as Believers are Children of Abraham, so too of Isaac and Jacob.
The great deceiver, has blinded many to this Truth. 4

 

[brightfame52]

Israel and Church the same, The Spiritual Family of Abraham !

The Church’s Unity Is seen By A Prophecy in Isaiah

The Father said to Christ, “It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel;

I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). In other words, it was God’s purpose that Christ, the Messiah, should not only save the preserved of Israel, but that He should be the Saviour of the Gentiles to the ends of the earth.

But no man is saved apart from faith in Christ. When a Jew or a Gentile believes in Christ, he becomes manifestly a member of Abraham’s spiritual family and a member of the Household of God, and therefore a member of the one family in heaven and in earth
Paul, of the Church, was an extension of Christ to fulfill this Purpose. Acts 13:47

For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Remember this command was given to Christ the servant in Isa 49:6

The Gentiles are those in the Nations that Abraham was made a Father to in Gen 17:5

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

My Synthesis and Structure:

Israel and the Church: The Unified Spiritual Family of Abraham

A core error within conditional and dispensational frameworks is the artificial separation of Israel and the New Testament Church into two distinct peoples with two separate destinies. When the Scriptures are examined as a unified, organic whole, it becomes undeniable that Israel and the Church are the same—comprising the single spiritual family of Abraham and the one Household of God. Eph 2:19

The structural unity of this covenant body is anchored in three specific scriptural witness blocks:

1. The Prophetic Blueprint of the Messiah's Mission (Isaiah 49:6)

The unity of Jews and Gentiles into one covenant body was never an afterthought or a temporary "parenthesis" in history. It was the explicit eternal purpose of the Father, revealed in the prophetic commission given to Christ the Servant:

"It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)

This absolute decree establishes that the Messiah’s redemptive work was never restricted to physical lineage. His mission was twofold yet unified: to gather the elect remnant of national Israel ("the preserved") and to efficiently extend His saving grace to the elect among the nations ("the Gentiles"). Christ is the single Savior of a single, unified body.

2. The Covenant Definition of Abrahamic Fatherhood (Genesis 17:5)

To understand who these "Gentiles" are in the economy of salvation, we must return to the foundational covenant promise made to the patriarch Abram. When God changed his name to Abraham, He divinely defined the scope of his fatherhood:

"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." (Genesis 17:5)

This declaration proves that Abraham was never intended to be merely the head of a singular, localized physical race. By divine decree, he was established as the father of an international spiritual lineage. As the Apostle Paul systematically unpacks in his epistles, when any individual—whether Jew or Gentile—is brought to faith in Christ, they become manifestly recognized as a member of Abraham’s spiritual family, a citizen of the Household of God, and a member of the one family in heaven and in earth.

3. The Apostolic Execution of the Prophecy (Acts 13:47)

The New Testament Church does not replace Israel; rather, it is the actual expansion and fulfillment of the prophecies made to Israel. In Acts 13:47, Paul explicitly identifies the gospel ministry of the Church as the direct extension of Christ's commission in Isaiah 49:6:

"For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

Paul does not treat Isaiah’s prophecy as a text reserved for a localized earthly kingdom. He applies it directly to the Church militant. The command given to Christ the Servant is executed in time through His mystical body, the Church, as the gospel brings the elect out of the darkness of the nations and into the light of life.

Conclusion

No man is saved apart from union with Jesus Christ. Because Christ is the true Seed of Abraham and the ultimate focus of Old Testament prophecy, all who belong to Him are counted as the true seed. The Church and Israel are not two separate peoples tracking along two separate timelines; they are the single, unshakeable spiritual family of Abraham, eternally purposed in Phase I, legally redeemed in Phase II, and progressively gathered out of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

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[brightfame52]

Did Paul spiritualize scripture ?

One of the reasons for the confusion and error of not realizing the Church and Israel are the same people just under a different economy, is because its ignored how Paul spiritualized things in the OT to give their application and meaning into the NT which He served, for He was a Minister of the New Testament and in being so a Minister to the gentiles .

2 Cor 3:6

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Rom 15:16

That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

Yes, its the same ministry.

The New Covenant must be applied to the gentiles, this same one promised to Israel here Jer 31:31

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Now lets observe how Paul spiritualized scripture in the OT to give us to know that the OT in general was written with a underlying spiritual relevance not comprehended during the OT times but was to be revealed in the NT times 1 Pet 1:10-12


10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.


Now lets look at an instance of how Paul spiritualized events in the OT ! 1 Cor 10:1-4,11

1Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

11Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Now think about what Paul has just stated here in this passage ! Spiritual food, drink, rock and Christ, now where in the written account of the Exodus is any of this mentioned ? For in the literal account we read of physical manna, water from a physical rock ! We observe the people of Israel passing through the red sea and a cloud by day and pillar by night, but there is no mention of baptism as Paul states. The point here is that the Apostle is demonstrating the proper way to interpret the OT ! Not only did the story literally happen in the OT but it had a higher and spiritual meaning which the Holy Spirit intended for it to have..Thats why Paul says to this same church earlier about the things he spake to them this:

1 Cor 2:12-13

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Hence, spiritual food, spiritual drink, spiritual rock can mean a spiritual Israel The Church.

My Synthesis:


1 Corinthians 2 and the Spiritual Discernment of the Old Testament
You hit the nail on the head. The absolute failure of the dispensational, literalist model is its refusal to interpret the Old Testament the way the inspired Apostles did. They treat the Old Testament like a cold, physical history book rather than a book of living, spiritual patterns.
To finish your thought from the end of your post, the reason Paul could look at literal manna and a literal rock and say "that Rock was Christ" is precisely what he told the Corinthian church earlier in 1 Corinthians 2:13–14:

"Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

1. The Typological Reality: Shadow vs. Substance

When Paul "spiritualizes" the Old Testament, he isn't making up allegories or stripping the text of reality. He is revealing the hidden blueprint of the Holy Spirit.

• The Literal Account: Moses struck a physical rock, physical water came out, and physical Israel drank to keep their physical bodies alive.
• The Apostolic Application: The Holy Spirit intended that physical rock to be an architectural shadow of Jesus Christ, who would be smitten by the rod of divine justice to pour out the living water of the Holy Spirit for the vital quickening (Phase III) of His true, spiritual Israel.

2. The Great Irony of the Literalist Model

Dispensationalists accuse covenant theologians of "spiritualizing" prophecies like Jeremiah 31:31 to apply the New Covenant to the Gentile Church. But if applying an Old Testament type to the New Testament Church is an illegal "cop-out," then they must accuse the Apostle Paul of the exact same thing in 1 Corinthians 10!

Where does Exodus say they were "baptized unto Moses"? It doesn't. Where does it say the rock "followed them"? It doesn't. Paul, as an able "minister of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit" (2 Cor 3:6), was given the spiritual sight to see that the physical shell of the Old Covenant existed solely to preserve the spiritual kernel of the New Covenant.

3. The One Ministry, One People, One Covenant

This is why Romans 15:16 and Jeremiah 31:31 link together flawlessly. Paul does not have a "Gentile Gospel" that is separate from an "Israel Gospel". It is the same ministry.


If the New Covenant was only for physical, ethnic Israel, then Paul could never have offered up the Gentiles to be sanctified by the Holy Ghost under his New Testament ministry. The prophets themselves didn't fully comprehend the depth of what they were writing because, as Peter stated, "not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things" (1 Pet 1:12).

Conclusion:

To insist on a strictly carnal, literalistic fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies—demanding a future kingdom of physical dirt, a brick-and-mortar temple, and ethnic segregation—is to read the Bible with the same veil over the eyes that blinded the physical nation (Romans 11:7). Paul explicitly tears down that veil. The physical exodus was a shadow; the spiritual redemption of the multi-ethnic Church at Calvary (Phase II) is the absolute, unshakeable substance! 5

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[brightfame52]

Did Paul spiritualize scripture ? cont


We have seen that Paul spiritualized the OT in 1 !or 10, and we will look at another passage in Galatians where he does it again Gal 4:21-31

21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Notice vs 24, which things [ OT History] an allegory ! The word is the greek word allēgoreō:

) to speak allegorically or in a figure

Remember when Paul wrote that Adam was a figure of Him to come, Christ Rom 5:14

Vines Dictionary states about the word allegory:


translated in Gal 4:24 "contain an allegory" (AV, "are an allegory"), formed from allos, "other," and agoreuo, "to speak in a place of assembly" (agora, "the market-place"), came to signify "to speak," not according to the primary sense of the word, but so that the facts stated are applied to illustrate principles. The "allegorical" meaning does not do away with the literal meaning of the narrative. There may be more than one "allegorical" meaning though, of course, only one literal meaning. Scripture histories represent or embody spiritual principles, and these are ascertained, not by the play of the imagination, but by the rightful application of the doctrines of Scripture.

Paul in this passage again spiritualized this history in the OT. Where can we read in genesis that Hagar is a Covenant or Mt Sinai ? What about Sarah being the New Covenant and is Mt Zion ? The fact is, it doesn't, but the inspired Apostle clearly tells us these things are true. Now the Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets with Christ being the Chief cornerstone.. Eph 2:20

20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

BTW this scripture proves the Oneness of the Church and Christ was and is the Head of the OT Prophets as He is the Head of the Apostles. For He is the Chief cornerstone..

And this being the case, we should give heed to this type of interpretation by the Apostle who was made so by the Sovereign Will of God as per 2 Tim 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

What's being seen here is that many of the OT events had a double meaning, the obvious literal and the higher, hidden, and spiritual meaning.

The Spiritual meaning however can only be given by the Holy Ghost of God 1 Cor 2:12-14

12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

A casual reading of the Literal history of the OT cannot reveal its higher and spiritual intent by God..

My Synthesis:


Did Paul Spiritualize Scripture? The Allegory of Galatians 4:21–31

We have previously seen how the Apostle Paul spiritualized the Old Testament historical narrative of the Exodus in 1 Corinthians 10 (the spiritual food, drink, and rock). In Galatians 4:21–31, Paul employs this exact same inspired methodology on the historical narrative of Genesis, opening up a higher spiritual meaning that a purely literalistic reading could never uncover.

Paul explicitly declares in Galatians 4:24 that the historical account of Abraham's two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, "are an allegory" (Greek: allēgoreō, meaning to speak in a figure or apply facts to illustrate deeper principles).

Consider the radical nature of Paul's interpretation. Where in the literal text of Genesis does it explicitly state that Hagar represents the Old Law Covenant at Mount Sinai, or that Sarah represents the New Covenant of Grace from the Jerusalem above? It does not. Yet, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul reveals that this historical narrative was divinely designed by God to represent two opposing spiritual principles and two distinct groups of people:

1. The Bondwoman (Hagar/Mount Sinai): Represents the national, ethnic entity of Old Covenant Israel "born after the flesh." Paul leaves no ambiguity about God's perspective on national Israel during his time—they are in spiritual bondage with her children (vs. 25).
2. The Freewoman (Sarah/Jerusalem Above): Represents the New Covenant Church, the spiritual seed of Abraham "born of the Spirit" by promise (vs. 26, 28).

Paul's conclusion in verse 30 is the definitive, legal casting out of ethnic, national Israel as the true heirs of the Abrahamic promises: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." The true heirs are spiritual Israel, the Church.

This inspired methodology proves a massive theological truth: Old Testament history carries a deep, spiritual double-meaning. Vine's Dictionary rightly notes that this spiritual interpretation does not destroy the literal reality of the history, but it reveals the higher intent of God. The histories represent and embody spiritual principles.


This truth exposes the absolute oneness of the people of God across both Testaments. As Ephesians 2:20 declares, the Church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." Christ is the unified Head of both the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles. Therefore, the prophets wrote under the direction of the same Spirit that instructed the apostles.

Why are so many modern debaters blind to this? Because a casual, literalistic reading of Old Testament history cannot reveal its higher spiritual intent. Paul explicitly tells us how these deeper realities are accessed in 1 Corinthians 2:13–14: "...not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

To deny that Paul spiritualized the Old Testament scriptures to apply them directly to the New Testament Church is to stand with the natural man who cannot discern spiritual things. The New Testament Church is the single, intended, true Israel of God, and the Old Testament narratives were sovereignly designed to illustrate this very purpose.

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