What is Israel's covenant position before God?
Israel holds a covenant position as the favored nation of God, yet individual Jews are not in a place of special privilege for personal salvation; they are sinners who need salvation just as Gentiles do. In God's scheme, Israel must be in the Land for prophetic culmination.
Les explains that Paul reveals a mystery: Jews and Gentiles are brought into the Body on equal ground. He respects Israel's covenant position as the favored nation of God, but stresses that for a Jew today to experience salvation, he is on the same level playing field as Gentiles—not in a place of special privilege. Yet in the great scheme, Israel must be in the Land for the culmination of prophetic Scriptures. Les recalls a Jewish listener who noted that if all Jews were saved, they would leave at the rapture, leaving no one to fulfill prophecy. Israel must be in the Land for the final seven years because all prophecy is directed to that; removing them would make God's Word fall apart, which God will not allow.