Questions & Answers

The New Testament uses the term "Israel" in many different ways. At times, it can mean the physical nation that was descended from Jacob (Matthew 10:6) or the land where they lived (Matthew 2:20-21). It can mean unbelieving "Israel" which opposed the Messiah and rejected the Gospel (Romans 9:31). It can also be a term for those within the physical nation who believe the Gospel and have been included in Christ (Romans 11:11-12). Finally, it can refer to the "new Israel" - the new people of God, irrespective of ethnic origin, a group that is composed of all believers and only believers (Galatians 6:16, Romans 9:6, Romans 11:26).

A failure to realize that "Israel" in Scripture sometimes means the new people of God has given rise to the false teaching that there will be a mass conversion of Jews to Christianity before the end of the world. This teaching is associated with various forms of millennialism.