Does the church have earthly or heavenly promises?
The church, which is the body of Christ, has heavenly promises, not earthly ones. Scripture presents Israel enjoying earthly promises, but the body of Christ is promised a heavenly future and rule in the heavenlies. Keeping Israel and the church separate makes the Bible’s promises sensible and removes apparent contradictions.
Les explains that the Jewish people were enjoying earthly promises, as seen in the wealth of Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba’s reaction. But when you come to the epistles of Paul and the outcalling, God calls out the body of Christ, a mixture predominantly Gentile but also Jews. To this group, all the promises are not earthly but heavenly, and their future is a rule in the heavenlies. Les emphasizes that you must separate the Jew, the nation of Israel, from the church, which is His body. When you separate those two entities in God’s dealing, all the contradictions disappear, the major questions disappear, and everything becomes sensible.