Israel And The Church
Q. My question is this: In Romans 11:17 where Paul is talking about being grafted in to the vine, that confuses me. How then do we have separate destinies and inheritances if we are grafted in to the vine? Or are the branches that were broken off, the unbelieving Jews, and the branches that remained the Messianic Jews and they are who we were grafted into? Either way, what are the verses that talk of our separate destinies and do we ever “come together” again? Or do we stay in the New Jerusalem and the then believing Jews stay on earth?
A. In Ephesians 1:14-16 Paul wrote that God was taking some from the Jews and some from the Gentiles to make a new race of man, the Church. Romans 11:17 explains that He did this by grafting the gentiles (wild olive shoots) onto the olive tree (believing Israel) to be nourished by a common root (the Lord). The wild shoots replaced the branches He had broken off (unbelieving Jews). Then in Galatians 3:26-29 he said that as the Church we’re neither Jew nor Gentile. By that he meant that both other groups would continue to exist but the church would no longer belong to either.
In Romans 11:25 we read that when the church is complete, God will restore Israel and Acts 15:13-18 says He’ll also give unbelieving gentiles another chance to come to Him. After the 2nd Coming, restored Israel will inherit the promised Kingdom on Earth and believing Gentiles will repopulate the rest of the planet. The Church will dwell in the New Jerusalem. While no imperfect being can enter its gates (Rev. 21:27) we’ll be free to visit Earth or anywhere else in the universe.
