If I told you that the word “Ekklesia” in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament appears, more times in the concordance of that Old Testament Scripture, than it appears in the Greek New Testament concordance; it most likely would still be meaningless to those of you who are Dispensationalists. But the statement would nevertheless be true.

So there was an understanding of this word “Ekklesia” by the disciples, when Jesus stated to them that “on this rock I will build my Church (Ekklesia)”. Would their understanding have caused them to think that Jesus the Christ or Messiah of Israel would now come to start a new Church, one which would exclude Israel? That thought must have never entered their mind, because they never broached that topic with Jesus, but instead embraced Him as Messiah.

Jesus was He, who was promised in the Old Testament Scriptures to come and bring a new covenant (the New Testament), and He did. This New Covenant was to be offered in the form of the good news (the Gospel), and it was according to Jesus, to be taken to the Jew first and also to the Greek, or Gentiles.

Jesus Himself set the example, for He began to explain this good news, first to the Jews, and then to the saints of paradise when He went into the belly of the earth for three days and nights. It was there, where those in Abraham’s bosom resided and awaiting deliverance from captivity that Peter states that He preached to men as far back as Adam. And they of the Old Testament Ekklesia were made to be the first residents in the heavenly paradise where all future partakers of this New Covenant Ekklesia would take up residence, until the day when Jesus would come back to Earth to execute judgment and reign.

You can read of this deliverance in Ephesians 4, where Jesus led these who were previously in captivity in the center of the earth, to a new captivity in paradise within the heavenly realm. There to await the completion of the bride — the church that He was now building.

That completion will come about when the last gentile is saved; for it is then that Jesus will come to deliver Israel, and then all Israel will be saved, even as Paul describes it in Romans chapter 11.

This term all Israel cannot mean that all who are called Jews or Israel down through their generations are to be saved — no the George Soros’es will cringe when they see the Christ; but it means that all who have received Israel’s Messiah, and thus who have been grafted into God’s olive tree are saved. And thus they have become part of Christ’s bride, and they will reign with Him over a remaking mortal population from the nations, made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

And thus when all Israel is saved so is this mysterious Church, which Christ was building made complete. And so the bride has made herself ready, and so is every man woman and child who have died in Christ been made ready for resurrection unto life eternal. And so, all who remain who are in this One called the Christ are caught up to be with Him where He is forever more (All Israel; the One new man; the one body; the one bride; the Universal Church)

And we shall reign with Him for 1000 years, and then for all the ages to come throughout eternity, we shall be with Him in glory.