Ezekiel 37:15-22 shows that God has (End time) plans for all Israel and not just the Jews. Surely it is inaccurate to use ‘Israel’ interchangeably with ‘Jew’ and can lead to misinterpretation of prophecy?
We confess we are unclear on what you mean by “all Israel and not just the Jews.” The people of Israel are the Jews and all Jews constitute the people of Israel. There is no other Israel in the world (or in scripture) besides the Jewish people.
Regarding Ezekiel 37:15-22, the prophet is speaking about what God will do with the Jewish tribes of Israel in the last days:
Ezek. 37:15 The word of the LORD came again to me saying,
Ezek. 37:16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’
Ezek. 37:17 “Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
Ezek. 37:18 “When the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’
Ezek. 37:19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’
Ezek. 37:20 “The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.
Ezek. 37:21 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;
Ezek. 37:22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
Notice the prophet defines the Israel in view here as “Judah, the sons of Israel…” and “Joseph” and all his “companions” in the house of Israel. Clearly, the prophet was describing the Southern kingdom of Judah and the Northern kingdom of Israel as they were divided after Solomon’s day. The Lord says through the prophet that these two peoples would be rejoined into one nation – Israel – at the end of the age. No longer would Israel be divided into two nations but would once again be a single Kingdom ruled by Jesus.
Also clearly, this prophecy cannot be speaking to any other group of people besides the Jewish people, since the details are so specific to Israel and none other. Therefore this passage relates to the Jewish people only, as do all mentions of the nation of Israel in the Bible.
