Israel, Christ, and the Kingdom: Do God’s Promises to Israel Still Stand?
One of the most important questions in biblical prophecy is not merely what God will do next, but whether we can trust Him to do what He has already said.
God made specific promises concerning Abraham’s seed, the nation of Israel, the land, Jerusalem, David’s throne, the coming kingdom, and Israel’s future restoration. Jesus Christ stands at the center of every one of those promises. But does Christ’s fulfillment of Israel’s calling mean that the people, places, and promises named in Scripture are replaced or cancelled?
That question led to the writing of Israel, Christ, and the Kingdom. The goal was not to begin with a theological label and then arrange verses around it. The goal was to ask the question Scripture itself repeatedly asks: “What saith the scripture?”
The Question Behind the Book
Two truths are often placed against one another as though only one can be maintained.
The first is that Jesus Christ fulfills Israel’s calling and stands as the promised seed, King, and Saviour. The second is that God still means what He said when He made promises to Israel.
Scripture does not require us to choose between these truths. Christ is the center and fulfillment of God’s promises, but fulfillment in Christ does not require God to erase the named subjects, places, or details of those promises.
Paul asked the question plainly:
Romans 11:1: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
His answer was not uncertain. God had not cast away His people. Israel’s unbelief was real, but it was neither complete nor permanent.
Christ Fulfills Israel’s Calling
Israel’s history points forward to Jesus Christ.
God told Pharaoh:
Exodus 4:22: “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:”
Hosea later looked back upon Israel’s deliverance from Egypt:
Hosea 11:1: “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”
Matthew applies that pattern directly to Christ:
Matthew 2:15: “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Israel came out of Egypt, passed through the waters, entered the wilderness, and was tested. Jesus also came out of Egypt, was baptized, entered the wilderness, and was tempted. Where Israel repeatedly failed, Christ remained faithful.
Jesus does not merely stand beside Israel’s story. He brings its purpose to completion. He is the true and faithful Son, the promised seed of Abraham, the Son of David, the King, and the Saviour.
Galatians 3:16 says:
“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.”
Every promise of God reaches its certainty and fulfillment through Jesus Christ. Yet that does not mean every distinction found in Scripture disappears.
Fulfillment Is Not Cancellation
When the angel announced Christ’s birth, he did not describe David’s throne as an empty symbol.
Luke 1:32–33 says:
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
The throne belongs to Christ. The kingdom belongs to Christ. Israel’s future belongs to Christ. None of these promises can be separated from Him.
But Scripture still names David’s throne and the house of Jacob. Christ’s fulfillment establishes the promises rather than making their original wording meaningless.
This principle matters far beyond one doctrine. If God can make a promise using clear subjects, locations, and details, but later fulfill it by changing those details into something entirely different, then the words of the original promise provide little certainty. Scripture instead presents God as faithful to what He has spoken.
One Saviour, Not Two Plans of Salvation
Maintaining God’s promises to Israel does not mean believing in two Saviours or two different ways of salvation.
Acts 4:12 declares:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Jew and Gentile alike must be saved through Jesus Christ. Believing Jews and believing Gentiles are reconciled to God through the same Saviour and made one in Christ. No person receives eternal life through nationality, law-keeping, ancestry, or religious works.
Israel’s future salvation will not occur apart from Christ. It will be the work of Christ and the fulfillment of God’s mercy.
Romans 11:25–26 says:
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written…”
Israel’s present blindness is described as partial and temporary. The words “until” and “all Israel shall be saved” point forward rather than backward. God’s future work with Israel does not compete with the gospel. It displays the faithfulness of the same Saviour proclaimed by the gospel.
The Kingdom the Prophets Expected
After Christ’s resurrection, He spent forty days teaching the apostles “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” The disciples then asked:
Acts 1:6: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus did not tell them that Israel would never receive the kingdom or that they had misunderstood everything the prophets had written. He told them that the timing belonged to the Father.
The prophetic kingdom remains centered in Jesus Christ. He is the returning King. David’s throne is His throne. Jerusalem’s peace will exist under His rule. The nations will be governed in righteousness because the rightful King has returned.
The church does not replace Christ’s kingdom. The church belongs to Christ and shares in the blessings secured through Him, but God’s work through the church does not require Him to abandon what He spoke concerning Israel, the nations, the land, Jerusalem, or the reign of Messiah.
Why This Question Matters
This subject matters because it concerns the character of God, the authority of Scripture, and the glory of Jesus Christ.
If God keeps His promises to Israel, then believers can have confidence that He will also keep every promise made concerning salvation, resurrection, eternal life, judgment, and the new creation.
Studying Israel, Christ, and the Kingdom should not lead us away from Christ. It should lead us more fully to Him. God’s dealings with Israel, the covenants, the prophetic kingdom, the church, Israel’s future restoration, and the hope of the new creation ultimately lead us back to Jesus Christ.
He is the faithful Son who succeeded where others failed. He is the promised seed. He is the Saviour of Jew and Gentile. He is David’s greater Son. He is the rejected King who will return and reign. He is the One through whom every promise of God will reach its righteous completion.
Continue the Study
Israel, Christ, and the Kingdom: A Biblical Study of Prophecy, the Church, and God’s Promises to Israel follows this biblical story from Exodus through Revelation.
The book examines Israel’s calling, Christ’s fulfillment, the promises to Abraham and David, the New Covenant, the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven, the church, Israel’s future restoration, the millennial reign, Jerusalem, the nations, Ezekiel’s temple, and the new creation.
The purpose is not to defend a theological system. It is to follow the connected testimony of Scripture and allow the words God chose to retain their ordinary meaning.
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Join the Conversation
How have you understood the relationship between Israel, Christ, and the church? Do you believe Christ’s fulfillment requires God’s promises to Israel to be cancelled, or does His fulfillment establish their certainty?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Written by Jacob DeLong