Ezekiel 36:24-28 “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. (25) Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. (26) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (27) I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (28) Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” The above quoted prophecy given by the Holy Spirit through the prophet Ezekiel helps us to more clearly understand God’s sequence of events for natural Israel. For notice that God says that He will first gather Israel from among the nations, and bring them into the land of Israel. And so, we see that even though God is bringing them back into their land as a nation that they will not yet be saved as a nation. God then says that only after He has brought them back into their land, that He will cleanse them. When our Lord says that He will cleanse Israel, He speaks of cleansing them with clean water. In other words, He will initially cleanse them with the washing of the water by His word (Ephesians 5:26). Currently, most Israelis are not adherents to the Law of Moses. But we have already seen that it is the law that is Israel’s tutor that will bring them to Christ. And so, there is coming a time when Israel as a nation, will once again embrace the Law of Moses, and walk in that law. Obviously, that time has not yet come. When that time comes however, God says that He will give them a new heart, and put His Spirit into their hearts. It is only those who are born-again, that receive a new heart, and the Spirit of God takes up residence in their hearts. And so, it is at that time that Israel as a nation will be saved, and thus they will become part of spiritual Israel. But their time has not yet come. Michael E.B. Maher
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