The House of Jacob and the House of Israel in the Last Days

The ‘old conniving self’ Jacob and the ‘new princely self’ Israel co-existed in one man. So, is there a distinction between the house of Jacob and the house of Israel? Does God treat ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ synonymously? How will the judgment and restoration of ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ play out in the last days?

Ezekiel 28:25-26 “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.'”

The judgment of God that came upon the nation of Israel in 6th century BC – the destruction of the Temple, the desolation of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of Israelites from their own land – as a result of their unfaithfulness towards God (and His Son), was prophetic of the coming judgment upon the nation of Israel in the great tribulation period, when the abomination of desolation will profane the Third Temple, destroy Jerusalem, and force Jews to “run to the mountains”. You may read more about this judgment in the previous post, “The Coming Baptism of the Refiner’s fire“. Yet, the restoration (or deliverance and salvation) from this judgment will be swift, that is, not seventy years but promptly, upon any individual who will call on the name of Jesus as the Messiah during this appointed three-and-a-half years of judgment, at the end of which Christ shall return for His Millennial reign. Before we look further into the restoration after the return of the Messiah, it is important to differentiate Jacob and Israel, and thus by extension the sons of the house of Jacob and the sons of the house of Israel. Unlike the case where the name of Abram was changed permanently to Abraham, Jacob’s name was not changed permanently to Israel, for God still addressed the same person as Jacob or Israel in many parts of Scriptures, even within the same breath, depending on God’s intent. This did not happen with Abraham. Therefore, Jacob’s name was not changed by God; rather, Jacob was baptised with a new name, just like many believers after water baptism today.

Isaiah 10:20-22 Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

Psalms 114:1-2 When Israel went forth from Egypt; the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah became His sanctuary; Israel, His dominion.

Isaiah 8:14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary; but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

In Scriptures, Jacob refers to the actual person, who was the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham; or the house of Jacob, which comprised the natural descendants of Jacob within the twelve tribes. It is broadly used to refer to the Jewish race today. Israel is more complicated. Israel may refer to the baptism name of Jacob himself; it may refer to the entire congregation in the wilderness (after exodus) comprising the house of Jacob together with multitudes of foreigners, whether as proselytes, slaves, or loyalists; it may refer to the (undivided) Kingdom of Israel in the days of kings from Saul to Solomon; it may refer to the Northern Kingdom comprising the nine “landed” tribes after the (undivided) Kingdom of Israel was divided from the days of Rehoboam, with the Southern Kingdom comprising two “landed” tribes being the Kingdom of Judah, from where the term “Jews” was derived during the exilic and diaspora era; and it may refer to the reunited post-exilic nation of Israel comprising both the house of Israel (remnant from the ceased Northern Kingdom returning from the diaspora) and the house of Judah (remnant from the Southern Kingdom returning from the exile). Today, Israel is widely used to refer to the political state of Israel, or the Jewish race living within the political state of Israel. So, which one is “Israel”, what is “Israel”, or who is “Israel”?

Galatians 6:15-16 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

One little understood truth is that Israel refers to the corporate body of the new creation in Christ. In other words, the Israel of God is the body of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into whom individual new creations are joined as members of the body. This body of new creation is also known as the body of the one new man (Ephesians 2:11-22), and “ekklesia” – the general assembly or church – of the Firstborn (Hebrews 12:22-24). Just as this congregation of the new creation is neither Jewish nor Greek, Israel – the name of the congregation in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) – is also neither Jewish nor Greek, as this congregation comprised both natural descendants of Jacob and multitudes of foreigners. In addition, if Jesus is the true vine (John 15:1-6) and the true olive tree (Romans 11:16-24), and both Jews and Gentiles are merely branches that are grafted into His body (or trunk), then Jacob was the first branch that was grafted into the olive tree. In other words, Jacob was baptised into the name of Israel, which is the princely title of Jesus.

Isaiah 8:7-8 “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, it will reach even to the neck; and the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

Even when God spoke to Isaiah, God referred to the land of Judah as the land of Immanuel. In other words, God referred to the land of Judah, of the sons of Jacob, by its “baptism” name of Immanuel, the principal title of Jesus, the Israel of God. This little understood truth is the core truth behind the name “Israel”. Thus, even though Jacob maintained his natural familial identity as the house of Jacob, he was baptised into the spiritual name of Israel to represent or foreshadow the house of ‘the God who contends with human flesh that supplants God (or takes God by the heels)’, namely, the house of Israel (c.f. Genesis 32:27-28). While the house of Jacob is natural or of fleshly stature, the house of Israel is spiritual or of spiritual stature. While the priesthood of the house of Jacob is of the order of Aaron and Levi, the priesthood of the house of Israel is of the order of Melchizedek. While the traditions of the house of Jacob originate from Moses, the traditions of the house of Israel originate from Jesus even before Abraham. While the house of Jacob is of the old self, the house of Israel is of the new self called the one new man who is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female. Both these dimensions were represented by Jacob, but when the Messiah, the true Israel into whom Jacob was baptised, came, He put asunder that which is of the Spirit from that which is of the flesh in Jacob. So, Jews today are of the house of Jacob, while Messianic Jews (a misnomer since the one new man is neither Jewish nor Greek), who are those of the faith in Christ, are of the house of Israel.

Romans 9:6-8 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

This distinction between Jacob and Israel was understood by Paul, as he wrote that not all who are descended from the nation of Israel are Israel. In other words, not all descendants of the house of Jacob are of the house of Israel.

Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Indeed, who is a “Jew” today? One who is outwardly in the flesh according to natural genealogies, or one who is inwardly in the Spirit according to the “bloodline” of Jesus? Thus, a “Jew” today is a son of the Father, not a son of Jacob.

Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.

Verily, this does not mean that the Word of God written concerning the nation of Israel has failed, for it is the children of the promised Seed, Christ, and not the children of the flesh, who are regarded as the true descendants of Israel. This theological proposition concerning Israel, including the order of Melchizedek, is exposited comprehensively in Chapter 10 of my book, ‘Poiema, God’s Workmanship‘. Let us return to the restoration of the house of Israel at the second coming of the Messiah. During the Millennial reign of Christ, the land within the borders as promised to Abraham will be restored to the house of Israel – the remnant of the house of Jacob who have been grafted into the one body of Israel as true sons of Israel through faith in and faithfulness to Christ, the true Israel of God, into whose name Jacob was baptised in the Spirit. As for the rest of the sons of Jacob who will still reject Christ as their promised Messiah, they will have no inheritance within the promised land, for they are not the true sons of the promise if they are not grafted into the body of Christ, the Promised One (Romans 9:6-8). Therefore, we must differentiate the house of Jacob from the house of Israel in the light of the Messiah who is the true Israel; for not all Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6-8), and it is the true house of Israel that will be gathered from among the house of Jacob, and be restored to the land of promise in which the house of Jacob had dwelled in the days of Joshua. However, does that mean that God has failed the house of Jacob in His promises to Abraham if He does not give any promised inheritance to the house of Jacob (except for those who are of the true house of Israel) in the Millennium? May it never be, for all the good word or promises of God given to the house of Jacob through Abraham had been fulfilled in the days of Joshua (Joshua 23:14). Thus, God owes nothing to the house of Jacob. Therefore, do not place undue eminence on the house of Jacob and all its traditions beyond the passion of evangelistic endeavour which is to be accorded equally to all unreached peoples. In fact, unreached people groups should be given greater urgency of prayer and evangelistic endeavour since they have not heard the gospel of the Kingdom yet, unlike Jews who have heard and rejected it in their hardness of heart. In addition, the true Israel of God today, the body of Christ, should be accorded greater eminence than the Jews, for it is through the faithfulness, oneness, and glory of the house of Israel that the house of Jacob will acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and, thus, be grafted back (or baptised) into the body of the Messiah, the true olive tree and Israel of God. In fact, Nahum summed up the eminence and splendor of the house of Israel over the house of Jacob, and the coming restoration of the latter unto the glory of the former, in his prophecy.

Nahum 2:2 For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, even though devastators have devastated them and destroyed their vine branches.

When the church is purified and perfected unto the glory of the perfected body and bride of Christ, the splendor of Jacob will be restored like the splendor of Israel. If the splendor of the house of Israel is anything but glorious, the splendor of the house of Jacob will be likewise. Thus, let the church rise to the perfect workmanship of God in these last days, and attain to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, the Israel – the all-prevailing Prince – of God. Jesus, the Builder of the church and Perfecter of faith, will surely do it! For greater details of our much needed understanding and action today, please refer to my book, ‘Poiema, God’s Workmanship‘.

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