unfortunately, what we have in assuming national Israel as an “unfinished work” is trying to justify pre conceived notions to the Scriptures, rather than letting the Scriptures reveal truth.
for example, Ezekiel 36:33 says “on THE DAY I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited.”
notice it says it will happen the same day. if this verse were talking about national Israel and 1948, we would see the Jews in Israel on that day proclaiming faith in Jesus and being baptized into his body. we see nothing of the sort, in fact just the opposite. the people living in the country called Israel are quite opposed to Jesus Christ and His Church.
further if national Israel was in view in Ezekiel, 39:28 states “I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore”, meaning every Jew in the world would be in Israel. obviously this hasn’t happened at all.
my view isn’t myopic, it lets the NT shed light on the OT and it lets the Bible tell us who “Israel” is and not what non-Christian thinks it is.
Eze 36:33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. Eze 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. Eze 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
No, it says 'In the day', not 'on the day'... To follow your reckoning, not only would they suddenly be cleansed, but on the very SAME DAY, the cities would suddenly be inhabited, and the fields would suddenly be tilled, suddenly popping up green and verdant 'like the Garden of Eden'... ALL in the same 24 hr period. Now, while my God is certainly capable of that, that isn't how it works.
And such an expectation does not harmonize with all of the other prophecies that speak to the restoration and reconciliation of Judah, as a reasonable study of that subject would indicate: They return in unbelief, they are saved from the 'Time of Jacob's Trouble', and their Messiah is revealed... THEN they believe.
further if national Israel was in view in Ezekiel, 39:28 states “I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore”, meaning every Jew in the world would be in Israel. obviously this hasn’t happened at all.
Well of course not - Zeke 38 has to come first. So it hasn't happened YET... But we are getting close. Thereafter, IMHO, AFTER the 7 years of purifying the whole land, THEN is when this whole prophecy will kick into high gear.
my view isn’t myopic, it lets the NT shed light on the OT and it lets the Bible tell us who “Israel” is and not what non-Christian thinks it is.
Yes it is, and that is precisely why. Without beginning in Torah, one will miss all the variables that are defined therein. Without an Hebrew understanding, one cannot possibly see it coming.
And we will see, you and I.