Israel and the Church

My opinions on Israel and the Church will seem contradictory to many main-stream Christians and Jews, so let me kill your preconceptions now:

1. I do not believe the Old Covenant was done away with. God said "forever" too many times.
2. I do not believe the New Covenant replaces the old. It adds to it (the covenant, not God's Law), it enhances it, and it is superior to it in the same way that a state law is superior to city ordinance.
3. I do not believe God has rejected the Jews, the physical descendants of Judah. He sent them into exile and promised to bring them back again. He will never reject them.
4. I do not believe that there is one way of salvation for Jews and another for Christians. All people in all times are saved from their sins in the same way: by God's mercy acting through the blood of Yeshua. That goes for Adam, Abraham, David, Peter, Paul, Thomas Aquinas, and George Washington. No one is saved by their adherence to a set of dos and don'ts.

My opinion is that God only has one people. Two brides, but one people. Judah and Ephraim (sometimes referred to as Israel or the Northern Kingdom) are two halves of one nation. Ephraim was sent into exile first and completely forgot her identity. God promised that he would not lose track of them, and that he would bring them back one day along with their sister. Judah appears to be returning from exile. Ephraim is sure to follow. Those who are physical descendants of tribes as well as those gentiles who attach themselves to Israel are all citizens of the same congregation. They do not replace Judah but are united under the Messiah.

Monte Judah's September newsletter has a great article on this subject. It's a little long and rambling, but I think he hit a home run: The Brotherhood of Judah and Ephraim.