In the September 15, 1951 Watchtower, on page 562 under the title “Identifying ‘The Israel of God’”
“HOTLY debated is the question: Does the State of Israel as established in Palestine May 14, 1948, … constitute a fulfillment of Bible prophecy?”
Further down, under the subheading “THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD” we read:
“With the passing out of the old, the new covenant was made with those who become spiritual Jews. This meant that not only natural-born Jews, but also non-Jews could be brought into this new covenant arrangement and thus become spiritual Jews. Fleshly descent from Abraham’s loins, consequently, does not reckon one as belonging to Abraham’s “seed”, to whom the promises are made.
On page 565, under the subheading “True Israel Now Restored” it reads:
“It is an important point, so often overlooked, the fact that neither of the two greatest Jewish prophets, Moses and Jesus, held out any hope of restoration to natural Israel.”
I don’t recall Moses ever denying the “restoration to natural Israel.” And since the promises to Israel were two fold, that is princes on earth as the Kings in heaven, the only promise that they forfeited was the heavenly promise, they would now have to share it with the Gentiles. The article goes on to say:
“That nation was given the choice, either faithfulness and life or unfaithfulness and death. They chose the latter, and their house was abandoned …The restoration promises so often quoted are found in the writings of such prophets as Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others … But what were the circumstances under which these promises were made?”
Anyone familiar with Watchtower theology, knows they loved to type and antitype. Applying all the promises to natural Israel in these prophetic books to themselves. One merely needs to look at their commentaries on Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Revelation to see for themselves.
We won’t get too deep into this subject, but we’ll get into the restoration of Israel, the New Covenant and the Mediator. Let’s start with Hebrews 9:15
“For this cause he [Christ] is the Mediator of the New Testament [Covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament [Covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” – Heb. 9:15.
So, let’s keep in mind that the Apostle was talking to Christian Hebrews who were really confused about the Law Covenant. This Covenant had been around for over sixteen centuries, and the Jews thought all along that they were God’s chosen people under it, meant to carry out the work that started with Abraham. A lot of these Hebrews, after accepting Christ as their Redeemer, felt like they still needed to hold onto their connection to the Law Covenant and its rules. In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle tried to set them straight about this wrong idea, which he referred to as a Judaizing influence. He warned them that if any Gentiles, in their eagerness, decided to become Jews by getting circumcised and putting themselves back under the Law Covenant, they would actually be showing that they’d lost their place in Christ. As he put it, in Galatians 5:2, Christ wouldn’t be of any benefit to them.
In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul wanted these Christian Hebrews to see the bigger picture when it comes to the Law Covenant and all that goes with it – the sacrifices, the mediator, the Law itself. He wanted them to understand that it was just a symbolic Covenant; that it pointed to a New Covenant; that its mediator was a foreshadowing of a much better Mediator, The Christ; and that the bulls and goats used for sin-offering were just a preview of the better sacrifices that would make the New Covenant work, with those better sacrifices coming from the better Mediator – Jesus as the Head and the Church as his Body.
Paul really emphasized that the perks of this Gospel Age, especially for the Church, are mostly about sacrifice. He said in 2 Timothy 2:12 that, “If we suffer with Christ, we’ll reign with him; if we die with him, we’ll live with him.” It’s all about trying to follow his example of self-denial and self-sacrifice. We need to be baptized into his death if we want to share in his royal honor and his role as the great Prophet, Priest, and King during the Millennial Age, bringing blessings to Israel and all the families on earth.
So, Paul is trying to make things clear here (Hebrews 9:13,14). He mentions that before the Law Covenant kicked in, blood had to be shed. He asks:
“If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer can cleanse the unclean, how much more will the blood of Christ, who offered himself to God without any blemish through the eternal Spirit, clean your conscience from dead works so you can serve the living God?”
This sets up a comparison between the Law Dispensation, the Law Covenant, and the New Covenant. The first thing this better blood does, sealing the New Covenant, is to clean our consciences from those dead works. Now, the Apostle isn’t saying this applies to all of Israel, but specifically to those Jews who became Christians and were previously bound by the Law. He wants them to see that the true sacrifice has arrived, one that meets all Justice requirements and wipes away their guilt, reassuring them that their sins are covered so they can serve the living God. He adds, “And for this same reason, since his blood can cancel all sin, he is the Mediator of the New Testament.” Not only has he cleared our minds of sin so we can serve God and be part of the Body of Christ, trusting in his work for us, but he’s also made a deal with God and Justice that makes him the Mediator of the New Covenant for all Israel. The Apostle isn’t claiming that the New Covenant is in effect right now or that we’re under it; in fact, he’s talking about the Jewish nation, as we’ll see.
So, the rest of verse 15 in Hebrews 9 says that: “by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Now, when it talks about those who are “called,” it’s not just about those who get the High Calling—like being joint heirs with Christ, the Spiritual Seed of Abraham. Instead, the Apostle is really referring to the Jewish nation as a whole, those who would align themselves with God’s plan. The same Apostle mentions in Romans 11:27, “God’s gifts and calling are not something He changes His mind about.” Basically, God called the Jewish nation to be His special people and made them promises about blessing all nations. He’s not planning to go back on those promises. Every Covenant and promise God has made, He’s fully aware of what it means and what will happen because of it—nothing is done on a whim. So, Israel is the nation He’s known would be key in His plan to bless all families on earth, just like the Apostle says in Romans 11:27, “This is my Covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”
THE BLINDNESS UPON THE JEWISH NATION IS A MYSTERY
In the 25th verse of the same chapter, it tells us that the blindness affecting the Jewish nation, until the fullness of the Gospel Church comes in, is actually a Mystery. Let’s read it together:
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” – Romans 11:25
Right now, God is picking out just a few special Jews and a handful from all nations to form what we call Spiritual Israel. This group is set to inherit the best part of the Abrahamic Covenant or promise. Once this Spiritual Israel is complete, which will include the Prophet, Priest, and King, the Deliverer – who will come from both Jew and Gentile – will show up. That’s when the promise will be fulfilled that “the Deliverer shall come forth out of Zion and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” This is God’s Covenant with them, with Jacob’s descendants. We see this in Jeremiah 31:31, where it says, “After those days, says the Lord, I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah.” This idea is backed up when we remember that not everyone in the Gospel Church was under the first Covenant; it was just the Jewish nation.
So, the gist of what the Apostle is saying is that Christ, as the Mediator of the New Covenant, steps in through His death to redeem the wrongdoings that happened under the first Law Covenant. Basically, the Jewish nation had to be specially redeemed before God could use them to bless other nations.
Now, since the work of the Millennial Kingdom is going to happen through natural Israel, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through them, it makes sense that nothing can really kick off until Israel is brought back from their current outcast state. Once that happens, the Lord’s blessings will flow, and the work will be done through natural Israel.
Now some argue that the Israel of today is a geo-political nation, and not a religious nation. That’s true, but if you know anything about how God does things, it’s always a process. So he’ll bring his people back to the land, which began in 1878 with Petah Tikva, than the Balfour Declaration in 1917, finally, they become a nation in 1948. But the blindness is still there until the “fullness of the gentiles.” That is when the Spiritual Israel is complete.
It’s important to recognize the difference between the nation doing the work and the One who will actually carry it out. It’s the Mediator of the New Covenant who has the authority to give out those blessings – you know, the Great High Priest, the Great Prophet, the Great King, the Great Mediator. There’s no blessing to be found outside of this Great One, and as the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles make clear, this Great One is made up of Jesus as the Head and the Church as His Body. So the Church, the 144,000 are NOT under the New Covenant, If Jesus is the Mediator between God and mankind, and the church make up His body, then it’s safe to say that the Mediator is the Christ (head and body).
THE NEW COVENANT TO BE MADE WITH THE JEWS
You know, a lot of Jews today might feel a bit lost or skeptical, probably because they’ve been in the dark for so long. But deep down, they might be yearning for those promises. Just imagine when the light of this New Dispensation starts to shine! They’ll begin to see the resurrected Ancient Worthies (that is those individuals mentioned in Hebrews 11) enjoying God’s favor, and when they notice their fellow Jews getting blessed under this new Kingdom, I think many of them who are currently blind and doubtful will start to show real faith, become obedient, and turn back to the Lord. But let’s be clear: no one’s going to become an Israelite unless they have Abraham’s kind of faith—genuine faith, trust in God, and a faith that shows up in how they live.
As people from different nations come together to seek the Lord and find their way to him, they’ll need to align themselves with the Holy Nation—God’s Kingdom here on Earth. Zechariah 12:3 tells us:
- “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”
That’s how they’ll connect with the Spiritual Christ, the Great Prophet, Priest, and King. By the end of the Millennial Age, those who stay faithful will be handed over to God, the Father. At that point, they’ll be completely in sync with Jehovah and fully in a Covenant relationship with him.
So, the New Covenant is really meant just for the Jews, since they’re the only ones who had that special relationship with God. When we talk about the “New Covenant,” it’s like God is giving Israel another chance, but this time through a better Mediator. This Mediator will finally bring the amazing blessings they were hoping for under Moses, which they didn’t get because Moses couldn’t really make up for their sins. You see, the sacrifices of bulls and goats just didn’t cut it when it came to taking away their sins. Before this New Covenant can replace the old Law Covenant with Israel, the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord and His followers has to happen first.
Hebrews 9:16 says, “For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” So, when it comes to Moses, his death was symbolized by the sacrifice of the bull and the goat. Now, if we look at the Antitypical Moses, the death of the Testator is reflected in the sacrifice of our Lord and His Church, which is His Body. It’s important to recognize that Christ had the power to establish a Testament or Covenant. But here’s the thing: as the man Jesus, He couldn’t create this Covenant. Why? Because as a human – not spirit-begotten – He could only offer His human life for humanity, and then He would have nothing left for Himself. If He had held onto His earthly life, He could have only set up an earthly Kingdom and wouldn’t have been able to grant eternal life to anyone afterward. Sure, He could have provided wise laws and better conditions than what we have now, but He wouldn’t have been able to offer the life, perfection, and blessings that He will provide under the New Covenant.
HOW THE LORD BECAME A TESTATOR
To be a Testator and bring eternal life to the world, our Lord had to stick to the Plan God laid out. First off, he needed to show his loyalty to God through his own obedience, which would earn him life on a divine level as a reward. Then, by embracing his human life—which he never lost—he could pass that human life and its rights to Israel and, through them, to everyone else. So, he’s a Testator. He’s someone who leaves something behind for others. But he doesn’t just give it away while he’s alive; he gives it as a Testator, something he parts with in death. Our Lord Jesus, as the Great Mediator of the New Covenant, will grant humanity the human rights and privileges he earned through his perfect obedience to Divine Law. He’s inviting us not to just share those rights with the world or come under his Mediatorial reign for restitution privileges, but rather, according to God’s will, to do something different. He wants us to join him in becoming Testators ourselves, to lay down our lives, and share in the spirit of his great work, so we can also participate in the actual aspects of that work during the Millennium.
You know, the first challenge we face is that, unlike him, we don’t have perfect bodies to offer as flawless sacrifices. So, God has set things up for those of us who have this mindset of wanting to sacrifice. He allows us to be supported by the Lord Jesus, who acts as our Advocate. He can credit us with his merit and rights to make up for our flaws and imperfections, so we can present a sacrifice to God that’s actually pleasing. It’s interesting to note that he doesn’t give those who are called the blessings of the Millennial Age or the conditions that come with that reign. Instead, he provides something that serves his purpose for us much better: the imputation of his merit for our past sins. This way, our sacrifice can meet the Divine standards. Even then, our sacrifices would still fall short and be unsatisfactory because we can’t complete them on our own, if he didn’t keep being our Advocate. With every flaw and imperfection we have, we can turn to him and receive mercy, getting cleansed from all sin through the merit of his sacrifice.”
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” – 1 John 2:1
THE JEWS “WILL OBTAIN MERCY THROUGH YOUR MERCY”
So, here’s the deal: we’re talking about this amazing Testament that’s all about Christ’s blood, right? He even says, “This is my blood of the New Testament.” Instead of spreading that blood out to everyone or just to Israel, he first applied it to the Church. It’s like everything has to go through the Church first. When he says, “Drink ye all of it,” he’s inviting everyone to share in his cup. If you’re not sharing in that cup, you can’t really share in his life. It’s his cup, and he’s letting us have a taste. We might not feel worthy to connect directly with the Father, but the Father had us in mind even “before the foundation of the world,” just like the Apostle mentions in Ephesians 1:4. So, we shouldn’t think of the Mystery—the selection of the Church, the Body of Christ—as just an expansion of the original Divine Plan. It’s really just about fulfilling a part of that Plan that wasn’t revealed before.
You know, it takes the entire Gospel Age for the Church of Christ to really take in his “cup” and get “baptized into his death.” Once the last member has had their sip from this cup and has gone through that baptism, finishing their journey, then all the sufferings of the Priest, Head, and Body will be complete. These are the sufferings the Lord talks about through the prophets when he mentions “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that shall follow.” It all started with the Head and has carried on down to every member of the Body. And as soon as these sufferings are wrapped up, The Christ will be crowned with glory, honor, and immortality beyond the veil.
When we take a sip from this cup of the New Testament – representing his blood or the life he gave up – we’re really sharing in Christ’s death. (I Cor. 10:16,17.) But it doesn’t stop there; we’re also invited to share in his special life on a divine level (I John 3:2). This means we’re part of the mission to create the Testament, or Covenant, that will reach Israel and then spread to the world. The Apostle backs this up in Romans 11:25-28. He talks about the time when Israel will be freed from their sins, when the Deliverer, The Christ, both Head and Body, “will come out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” God will establish his Covenant with them and wipe away their sins, and the Apostle adds, “They shall obtain mercy through your mercy.” – Rom. 11:31.
You know, this whole thing is really about God’s mercy working through Jesus and then Jesus’ mercy flowing through the Church. So, in one way, it’s God’s mercy; in another, it’s Jesus’ mercy; and then there’s the Church’s mercy too. And guess what? This mercy is meant for the Jews. So, what kind of mercy are we talking about? It’s all about this New Testament. How does it work? Well, it comes through the death of Christ, who is the Testator, and the Church, which is His Body. Now, what does Israel get from this Testament or Will? They get the earthly life and rights that Christ sacrificed for; all of that is for Israel. Those rights to eternal life and everything that was lost because of Adam but redeemed by Christ? Yep, that’s all for the Israelites—no one else. So, during the Millennial Age, everyone will need to come to these people of God to find eternal life and to be part of this Testament or Will of Christ. They’ll need to become true Israelites to inherit this Will, which promises eternal human life and all the earthly rights that Jesus had and gave up, and which He let us share in sacrificing alongside Him.