Ours is a wonderful period in which to live. We yet shall see a nation born "at once." The expression "a nation born at once," found in Isaiah, refers first to the sudden coming to maturity of the Body of Christ at the end of the present age. But spiritual Israel and physical Israel are on a converging course, and so the expression applies also to physical Israel, referring to the salvation that will come out of Zion and bring Divine righteousness to the physical people and land of Israel.

We shall be present (and hopefully a participant) when the nation of Israel is born again of the Spirit of God. God never has forgotten His people. They are beloved for the patriarchs' sake. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.

The names of the tribes of Israel are written on the gates of the new Jerusalem. The names of the twelve Jewish Apostles of the Lamb are engraved in the twelve foundations of the wall of the new Jerusalem. The Church is one. Christ has come to Israel, and we Gentiles have been made an eternal part of the Divine family by the mercy and grace of God.

Let us stand fast in the true scriptural concept. The coming of the Kingdom of God is hindered when we foster a division between the Christian Church and the people and land of Israel. There is only one elect of God, one royal priesthood, one chosen people, one Christ, one Body, one Spirit, one Father in Heaven. Let us destroy the middle wall of partition Satan and human self-seeking have perpetuated. Let us recognize the unity of Jerusalem, of the Church of the Firstborn, of Zion.

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just [righteous] men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

We have considered three viewpoints we believe to be misconceptions, concerning the relationship between the Christian Church and the land and people of Israel.

Christianity is a Gentile religion.

True Israel is spiritual and unrelated to the land and people of Israel.

There will be a Gentile church in Heaven and a Jewish kingdom on the earth.

A corollary of these three misconceptions is the applying of the Messianic prophesies to Israel by race rather than by election. It is evident from the Scriptures that such an application is misdirected.

We feel the power of God moving among those who are "loving" Israel. We sense also the power of God pressing on us concerning a need for additional understanding of the Scriptures.

To be continued.