What are Israel and the church in Scripture?
Throughout Scripture, Israel is the nation and earthly people of God, while the church is the heavenly people of God. These are two distinct entities: Israel is associated with the earth, the church with heaven, as God's respective earthly and heavenly people.
Les explains that all through Scripture there are these two entities: the nation of Israel, the earthly people of God, and the church, the heavenly people of God. He notes that when Christ returned to heaven, the kingdom of heaven went with Him. Then in Colossians 1, Paul writes to Gentiles, praying for believers, giving thanks to the Father who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. So if you are a child of God, you are already in the kingdom, and when Christ comes at His second coming to set up the kingdom on the earth, we will be with Him.