Uh oh. There are warts!? :)
I didn't notice the spelling, I knew what you meant, and either way, I basically just know both words as the idea of explaining or examing scriptures.
I do have an iPad/iPhone and know what you mean. I'm not gonna pick on people for that! It was more the idea.
I learned that there are technical terms like "type" and "hermetics" (was the the word?) or whatever, but when I considered learning all that in my study of scripture, two things hit me. One, it's not how Christ explained it, and two, that would be like going to school and I'm not that interested in that kind of discussion. Like Christ, I find myself drawn to "the people" over the academics. When I read "academic" works it generally makes me have to read three times over to understand because it's so busy sounding smart... and then I think how few people even have the luxury! Ugh. Nope. I'll stay more childlike in my acceptance of the kingdom!
So you'll end up noticing a lack of those words in my writing, simply for the fact they're not in my vocabulary, and you'll have to forgive me if I miss a point that would have been clear had I bothered to learn the words.
I do however adore the parables, and they are beautiful! They tell precisely, in order, the story. The story of the man with his vineyard and sending the men who they kept killing. (Acts 7:52) The story of the virgins when the bridegroom comes for the bride. (1 Cor 15:23,51,52; 1 Thess 4:15-17) The story of the wedding feast the King prepares for his son but the guests who weren't properly attired to attend. (Rev 7:14)
So I guess what I'm saying is that I understand that some things have signifigance as parables which reveal kingdom truth, but I don't "spiritualize" anything. The prophecies of the old covenant (see the difference that using covenant means there) will come true, I believe, not because they come "spiritually" true (or in a "spiritualized" sense), but literally true.
Another way to put it is that most Christians appear to take what is yet to be fulfilled of the old covenant prophecies, ignore that they are OLD COVENANT, and apply them in a SPIRITUALIZED manner to the NEW covenant.
In a math equation, when solving the problem, if you do something to one side you have to do the same to the other.
Say you have 4 of 25 and you want to figure out percent. You could multiply both sides by 4 ending up with 16 of 100. Then I would imagine that 4 of 25 is 16%. The point? If you don't do the same operation to both sides you cannot come to the correct conclusion.
Thus, when our Father sent his prophets to Israel and Judah and let them prophesy all these prophecies to both nations... what did it mean to them? Was it only going to come true in a SPIRITUALIZED sense? No, they believed him, both for the good and bad, when they believed. The bad happened immediately and came true, not in a spiritual sense, but literally.
Thus, the finale of the prophecies of the old covenant should be true literally as well.
If you have Jewish friends who have kept the Law, as faithfully as we try to keep following Christ, then perhaps you'll consider this story and see what I saw?...
Jeremiah 35 is the chapter about the "faithful Recabites". Jeremiah was to go to them where they lived, invite them to the temple, then offer them wine.
Now, what does wine symbolize for us?
Jeremiah tells God, "I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink, but they refused."
Yet, God tells him, "‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’"
Why? (Please go read for yourself, YouVersion.com has every version but the NWT basically! It's quick, share it with me!)
It's a fascinating story. It was literally true, and it reveals truth in symbols as well. But does it mean the conclusion won't literally be, but only spiritually speaking, true?
No! God's word never lies.
So from this story I immediately (when reading straight through) though of my Jewish girlfriend who invited me once to her Sadar (I attended). She keeps the Laws, I don't know to what extent, because I couldn't judge. But she's Jewish and joyous and keeping faithful with all her heart—and I imagine that it is her and her family which will see the fulfillment of the old prophecies.
The likelihood of her coming to accept Christ as the Messiah before his return is low. But will her faithfulness not be rewarded? Of course! There are OLD COVENANT rewards, and there are NEW covenant rewards. She'll have missed out on the opportunity to be in the new covenant and the hope it holds for heaven. But she'll receive rich rewards when she does recognize the Messiah at his return, and realizes that he was and is the Christ (don't you love how they gave us language which makes it clear?!) and will receive the rewards due to her through the old covenant promises.
Thus Abraham and Sarah will have children shine in heaven as numerous as the stars, and on earth as numerous as the sand of the sea.
They'll be in the sky like stars, but won't be stars, they'll be on the earth like sand, but not be sand.
Does all this make sense? (I see the differences like spiritual, figurative, literal, symbolic, etc) I don't know how to bring people into what I've been seeing.
When he took Abram out to see the stars, I went with him out of the tent and looked up with him. (Like the way the Princess Bride movie unfolds out of the grandfather reading the book to his grandson.) Him looking up into the deep dark blue and all the twinkling stars. (Yeah, I put the keyword in there, with a twinkling of my eye!) He probably didn't imagine that his children would be up there like stars in the sky. No, if he believed that, IF, then it was because that belief (from faith) was given to him, not because it came from his own mind (not imagined).
Further, while we don't have Israelites (of 10-tribe northern kingdom) around which we can identify to talk to, we know that the Jews still pray for their brothers (Israel/Ephraim) return in their rituals. The Jews still believe, despite Christians stealing their prophecies and saying that they'll be 'spiritually' fulfilled in Christendom, by spiritual Jews and spiritual Israel (i.e Christians), that they will see the fulfillment of the prophecies... to return to their land, to rest, in peace in the land. They have never dreamed of going to heaven, they've always believed in paradise earth. (But the Christians are busy trying to snatch up all rewards, they're supposed to be in heaven, not on earth! Oh, the Christian Pharisees!)
That's what's funny about Jehovah's Witnesses. They're more of a Jewish perspective than a Christian one. Old Covenant hope is the paradise, New Covenant is the heaven.
But what are you going to do? Speaking of them, these words seem so apropos, "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in."
Trying to tie this back to the thread topic, the Israel of God may produce people who were of the old covenant but become (still can! limited time only! offer available in all states. void any who prohibit it.) of the new covenant. The Israel of God is those of the old covenant, and in the one time that it was written in scripture, it refers to those Jewish Christians of the old covenant who were in the presence of the new covenant and were trying to get new covenant people to become old covenant too. But you can't be in two places at once, can you?
