www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Is Israel the still promised land?

Hello all,

I have been getting conflicting messages regarding if Israel the still promised land to the Hebrews? What is the church's teaching Catholic and Orthodox in regards to this topic?

thank you

My Catholic teacher for Bible study mentioned that Israel is the still promised land. I believe that there is no reason that Israel the still promised land since Jesus came to Earth and the whole mission of making Israel the promised land is to prepare for the coming of Jesus and the mission has been accomplished. I believe that making Israel the promised land is kind contrary to the Christian message since it contradicts that Jesus has already came. I don't believe that Jesus cares about border and politics since when Jesus came, He didn't talk about bringing the land back to the Hebrews; I mean what will keeping the land to the Hebrews people will do to the Salvation history any more? I'm for the Palastinians and the Hebrews to live together in one country just like the U.S. this is just my opinion and would like to be corrected if possible.

Israel is the promised land, but the Israel referred is the New Israel known as the Church. The nation-state founded in 1948 has as much to do with the Biblical Israel as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel has to do with Patriarch Abraham.

The 'fixation' many ill-informed American Protestants and others have regarding the secular state called Israel and its supposed role in 'sola' interpreted Biblical passages comes from a lack of understanding of the context of Scripture and the denial of Patristic influence on their 'knowledge' of faith.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away....Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:1-2

According to the commentary in The Orthodox Study Bible "The Holy city, New Jerusalem is the city build by God. It is the perfected Church, the bride ready for her husband, Christ, the abode of the righteous eternally. The OT prophesied a restored and exalted Jerusalem."

In a nutshell, I think this sums up pretty well the theology regarding the "promised land."

Fr Deacon Paul

No, it isn't. At least not the artificially-created state of Israel as we have it today.

Many Protestant Biblical fundamentalists/evangelicals think so but I take their notions with a grain of salt.