A Future for Israel

FRONTLINE Volume 34 • Number 3

The modern-day state of Israel has been in the news and in our collective minds at least since that tragic day last year, October 7, when the nation of Israel was horribly and brutally attacked by the terrorist group Hamas. Many believers in Christ mourned that terrible day. Why are so many Christians, especially those of a dispensational outlook, concerned about Israel? Because we love those whom God loves, and the Bible makes clear that God loves His people Israel (Isa. 41:8–10) and has a plan for Israel’s future.

The articles in this issue center around what the Bible says about God’s future for Israel. Though many in the past have tried to connect prophecies in the Bible to world events in the modern period, the articles in this issue of FrontLine do not attempt to do so. The authors are content with carefully explaining what we understand the Bible to say about Israel’s future. When these prophecies happen is not up to us to determine. God is the one who made the promises; He is the one who will bring them to pass.

What encourages us in our belief that God will do so is revealed in God’s nature. What kind of God is He? Does He keep His promises to those He made them to? What kind of God would He be if He did not? Think about that, especially the next time you read through the many wonderful (but distinct) promises God gave the church.

Starting our study of God’s promises to Israel is Mark Lounsbrough’s article that discusses the interrelation of God’s covenant with Abraham and the one He made with David. God’s commitment to Israel results in His plan to use Israel to bring salvation, and even the future eschatological deliverance, to all believers. This plan begins and ends with His unique relationship with Israel.

Keith Kobelia provides us with an article that offers a good understanding of God’s intentions for Israel expressed through the prophet Ezekiel. Dr. Kobelia tackles Ezekiel 37, and he includes an emphasis to which many believers not often have given much attention.

My article is next and reveals what the Minor (or Unappreciated) Prophets have to say about God’s future plans for Israel. Included are many passages that may be unfamiliar to many but have quite an impact on God’s plan for Israel. My hope for this article is that as readers see God’s gracious nature revealed in keeping the promises He made to Israel, they will view this section of the Bible not simply as “gloom and doom” (though judgment is the dominant theme), but rather as a wonderful source of encouragement and blessing.

Paul Hartog’s article assures us that the New Testament is not silent about God’s plans for Israel. Romans 11 is emphatic, based on the Old Testament foundation, that Israel’s future is secure.

Doug Brown’s article deals with the tragedy of the interpretative problems of those who replace Israel with the church, claiming that the church supersedes Israel. Such an interpretive move impugns God’s character.

Finally, Dan Brown argues that there are some startling implications for ministry in the church today as a result of God’s future for us that culminate in His future for Israel.

All glory to God!

Ken Rathbun

Features:

BLESSING AND DOMINION: THE ROLE OF ISRAEL IN GOD’S RESTORATIVE PURPOSE FOR CREATION
Mark Lounsbrough

The Abrahamic and Davidic covenants involve blessing and dominion as two storylines that highlight God’s ongoing purpose for Israel.

EZEKIEL 37:15–28 AND ELEMENTS OF GOD’S FUTURE PROMISES TO ISRAEL
Keith A. Kobelia

Knowing the future and the character of Israel, the Lord made promises to Israel that He fully intends to fulfill in His eschatological program.

INSIGHTS FROM THE UNAPPRECIATED PROPHETS ON GOD’S FUTURE FOR ISRAEL
Ken Rathbun

The writings typically known as the Minor Prophets contain a wealth of prophecies that demand more attention than is often given to these “obscure” books.

Note: click here for related podcast.

A FUTURE FOR ISRAEL IN ROMANS 9–11
Paul Hartog

“Dispossessed of her homeland and dispersed throughout the world, Israel has nevertheless survived while other peoples in similar situations have not.”

NO FUTURE FOR ISRAEL? SUPERSESSIONISM 101
Douglas Brown

Will Israel be saved and restored in the future? Or have God’s promises to Israel been fulfilled in Christ and the church?

WHY THE PROMISES TO ISRAEL MATTER TODAY
Dan R. Brown

No one can function with biblical practice and methodology without first having correct beliefs in place.

DEPARTMENTS:

ON THE HOME FRONT

NEWS FROM ALL OVER

HEART TO HEART: Time to Land the Learjet
Malinda Duvall

Note: click here for related podcast.

AT A GLANCE: Words for the Word: The Multivocal Bible
Layton Talbert

WITH THE WORD TO THE WORLD: Are You a Needer or a Nodder?
Jim Tillotson

REGIONAL REPORTS

CHAPLAIN’S REPORT: Fair Winds and Following Seas
Tavis J. Long

EVANGELIST’S PERSPECTIVE: The Wealthy
Jerry Sivnksty

Pastor’s Insert:

First Partaker: Books and Roads – Mark Minnick

Bring … the Books: Five Books for a Deserted Island – Robert Vincent

Straight Cuts: Much More Precious than Purified Gold – David Pennington

Windows: God in the Morning – Tom Sims

(Originally published in FrontLine • May/June 2024. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.)