THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

16 The Hope of Israel: What Is It ?
might make it uncertain whether the descendants of
Ishmael or those of Isaac were to inherit the promises)
so likewise there is a natural "Israel," "Zion" and
"Jerusalem"and also a spiritual counterpart of each;
and that just as Ishmael preceded in time the true heir
(though eventually he was to' be "cast out" and not to
be "heir with the son of the free Woman") even so the
natural Israel, Zion, and Jerusalem preceded the respective
spiritual realities to Which those names properly
belong. For God's invariable order of procedure,
in the working out of His eternal purposes, is "first
that which is natural, and afterward that which is
spiritual" (1 Cor. 15:46).
If, therefore, an 0. T. prophecy of blessing, intended
for the true Israel (that "holy nation" of 1 Pet. 2:9),
be interpreted as applying to "Israel after the flesh,"
the interpretation is not "literal" (i.e., according to the
except in the sense in which "the letter killeth,
letter)
but the spirit giveth life" (2 Cor. 3:6) ;
for obviously
in this case the "literal" interpretation destroys the
prophecy completely. And it is specially to be noted
that, in the passage from which this Scripture is
quoted, Paul is explaining the great differences between
the Old Covenant (which was of the letter) and
the New Covenant (of the Spirit) ;
and moreover, he
is comparing the ministry of Moses, which had to do
with things that are seen (an earthly sanctuary and
its vessels of service, animal sacrifices, etc.), with the
ministry of himself and others whom God had made
"able ministers of the New Covenant ;
not of the letter,
but of the spirit." Also it should be noted that the
apostle there speaks of the Old Covenant (under which
promises were made to the natural Israel) as "that
which is done away"; whereas the New Covenant is