God's entire revealed future plan for Israel can be found in the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12, 13, 15, 17, 22). This covenant is the basis in which all other unconditional covenants for the nation are derived and consist of land promises, population growth, captivity, spiritual relationship with God, and victory.
God has stated “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen 12:7), which was the land of Canaan. Later in Israel's history, through the prophet Ezekiel, God allotted very specific portions of the promised land to the tribes of Israel (Ezek 47:21, 48:1-8, and 48:23-29). This apportionment very clearly belongs to the physical descendants of Abraham and is thus unique to them. It would go far beyond reason and do serious violence to the text to suggest that any other person or nation that has or will ever exist could claim to be descended from a specific tribe of Israel, and thus entitlement to any particular allotment of land, unless they were a true Israelite in the flesh.
Our ability today to trace any Israelite's ancestry back to a specific tribe is, of course, seriously compromised, if not completely impossible. That, however, should make no difference nor does it cause a dilemma for us in our interpretation of the text. God, the guarantor of the promise and the one delivering the gift in His time, has always known exactly who is from which tribe. Delivering on the promise is not an issue for Him. Also, as this promise has yet to be realized in full it is clearly an active expectation of the nation of Israel.
In addition to the Land promise, Israel has been promised to be as innumerable “as the dust of the earth” (Gen 13:16). Knowing as we do that Israel will strive with both Men and God (Gen 32:28), there is a certainty for many difficult tribulations that Israel knew that they were to experience. This promise then becomes a very merciful promise from a caring God for a nation of men. No matter how great the slaughter or dispersion, the nation of Israel has always had God's unconditional promise of their continued growth. Throughout their very storied and tumultuous history they have yet to be disabused in any degree of this expectation.
Abraham was told by God that his descendants would be held in captivity for four hundred years in Egypt (Gen 15:13,14). During this particular trial, of course, Israel had both the promise of being a multitude in number as well as the additional blessing of knowing that they would be restored by God's miraculous intervention and released with great possessions at the end of the captivity period.
From history, both Biblical and secular, it's clear that the promise of Egyptian captivity and eventual release was for Abraham's biological offspring. Both the context and the Hebrew word 'zera' (a term used to carnally define someone's children or posterity) used for Abraham's seed in these two promise passages of Scripture (Gen 13:16; Gen 15: 13,14) are identical and provide us with the necessary authority to associate them with the physical nation.
The spiritual relationship that Abraham enjoyed with God has also been promised to be shared with Abraham's posterity after him (Gen 17:7). By swearing an oath by Himself (Gen 22:16) and solemnizing His promises by divine ritual (Gen 15:12-17), God has called this relationship everlasting (Gen 17:7, 13, 19, Psa 105:8-10) and His promises to be eternal (Gen 13:15).
In that our purpose for this study is to help us better understand which eschatological position is most closely supported by the Scriptures, it is of critical importance to recognize that all of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant have been confirmed (Gen 22:17-18, 28:13-14) in spite of both Abraham's disobedience through lying (Gen 20:2) and Jacob's pretensions and lies (Gen 27:19). The New Testament then ratifies the immutability of these promises (Heb 6:13-18; Gal 3:7-9, 22).
A second unconditional covenant between God and Israel is called the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:9-16; 1 Chr 17:8-14), which promises an earthly kingdom ruled eternally by a physical descendant of David. Like the Abrahamic covenant, this has also been re-affirmed after disobedience (Jer 23:5-6, Isa 9:6-7; Zech 6:12-13, 14:19; Luk 1:32-33).
In order for this kingdom covenant to be completely fulfilled three specific things are required: a realm, subjects and a recognized ruler. The established messiah, the eternal ruler, has been unquestionably identified as Jesus. As Abraham's offspring, the nation of Israel fully and rightfully expect to be the earthly subjects of the kingdom. Like the land promises, the nation has never been disabused of this expectation.
Jesus made it clear that the kingdom would be taken away from the chief priests, pharisees, and scribes when he confronted them upon entering Jerusalem (Mat 21:43-45). Jesus also made it very clear, however, that what was taught by the religious leaders was correct, particularly in regards to the promised kingdom in which Jesus preached (Mat 23:1-3). The kingdom was not to be taken away from some because of bad theology. It was taken from them because they proved in their behavior to be unworthy subjects (Mat 23:3-7).
Israel knows that they will recognize and thus provide the appropriate honors to their king. They obviously have not gotten to this point as yet, so we can know that their expectation and most earnest desire is to see and know their eternally established messiah king, a seed from David through Solomon (2 Sam 7:16), who will deliver them to the promised realm in which they will be secure from their enemies (1 Chr 17:9).
Finally, there is the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34, 32:37-41; Ezek 16:60-63, 36:24-38, 37:21-28; Isa 59:20-21), which guarantees converted hearts, where God will place His law, as the foundation in which all of her blessings from God will come (Jer 31:33 cf. 32:36-42).
Building off of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, there is again the promise of a spiritual relationship between God and Israel (Jer 31:33) and the declaration that all of Israel will know the Lord (Jer 31:34). Going further, an implication is made for the end of sacrifices as all of the nation's iniquity will be forgiven (Jer 31:34) and a future time in which the nation will be indwelt with the Holy Spirit (Isa 59:20-21; Ezek 36:27). All of these things and the enjoyment of physical blessings (Isa 65:17-25; Ezek 36:28-30) will happen once Israel has been regathered back into her land (Ezek 36:24; Jer 32:27).
While it is recognized that the universal provisions of salvation in this covenant are shared with the Church (Mat 26:28; Heb 9:13-15), this covenant has never-the-less been established with Israel and Judah, not the Church (Jer 31:31). Again, what gentile believer within the Church can reasonably claim ancestry with the house of Israel and the house of Judah?
Before the Messiah returns to sit on the throne of David and establish the promised kingdom, of course, they must first be regenerated (Zech 12:10; Rom 11:25-27) and regathered (Matt 24:29-31). As three provisions of the promised kingdom (ruler, realm, subjects) must be met prior to it being considered fulfilled, the nation must first be broken into submissive repentance to receive by faith Jesus as her returning Messiah before they can be regenerated (Deut 4:30-31, 30:1-3; Isa 2:5-11, 4:3-4, 12; Jer 30:7-11; Ezel 39:25-26; Hos 5:14-15; Zech 12:10-13:2; Matt 24:32-34; Luke 21:25-28).
Finally and most importantly, all of the promises of these covenants and the expectations of the nation of Israel have been confirmed by Christ Himself through His agreement with the teachings of the synagogue (Mat 23:1-3), His preaching of the gospel of the kingdom during His ministry (Matt 4:23; Luk 4:43) and the peoples reaction to His message (Mat 21:8-9; Mark 11:8-10; Luk 19:36-39; John 12:12-13,34).
The gospel message declared by Jesus was what Israel had been correctly taught, if not completely understood, and what they rightly had every expectation for: victory (Gen 22:17), peace (Isa 2:4, 65:25; Hos 2:18), righteousness (Isa 11:4-5; Jer 33:14-17), joy (Isa 35:10), and obedience (Matt 6:10).
