The question I asked was seeking clarification from Inquistor for what he meant by "Israel".
you've concluded that an interpretation where the promises are made to an ethnic bloodline of Israel are equally incorrect
The 'an' part is out of place.
I've never made a claim in quite that particular way you phrased it above.
The seed promises were never made to an ethnic bloodline, they were made to Christ and those in Christ. Abraham, Jacob/Israel, and Isaac were each directly given the promises, and in each promise Christ is referenced (the seed). There are other promises, references, and prophesies to true "Israel" or "all Israel" which is a subgroup within "of Israel". There were certainly bloodlines pertaining to promise, it's just that
not the case that
every ethnic bloodline would fall under those promises. Christ Himself is an example of an ethnic Isaac descendant that does qualify for every promise to all Israel.
I think it's important to note that "house of Israel" also appears to be a different reference than "all Israel" or "all of Israel" with unclear overlap.
There are promises made to an ethnic bloodline of Israel
There are promises made to a spiritual people. The fleshly component and how it related to the flesh is really the focus of the conversation.
that these promises are fulfilled on a spiritual level in gentile believers (i.e. Christians) through forfeit by ethnic Israel.
I don't agree with this premise, mostly because 'Christian' doesn't mean 'Gentile' and there are still inheritors of the promises that are Isrealite by heritage (such as Paul). The inheritance of the seed promises are largely irrespective of genetic heritage because they are attained through Christ.
but the modern people currently in the land are not of that ethnic bloodline
I think it would still be the case that you would need to demonstrate that these promises were ever made exclusively to ethnic bloodlines to begin with. The moment "all Israel" is referenced is where that question especially comes into play.
But may I suggest that it isn't an "either-or" situation between these two options. There's a third option: There are promises made to an ethnic bloodline of Israel but the modern people currently in the land are not of that ethnic bloodline. The ethnic bloodline descendants are still scattered and have yet to inherit the promises during this "time of the Gentiles" (which we're currently in).
I don't necessarily agree with many of the interpretations of the "times of the Gentiles".
I think that if we are looking at what you are proposing though, you are stating that there is an unrealized ethnic group that will move into the physical land promised to Abraham at the end of what Dispensationalists commonly refer to as a "Church age". And from that, probably something about a 1000 year kingdom ruled by an ethnic group on earth?
The scenario has interesting implications including the question of how would we ever know who is part of that ethnic group or not?
When I mention Israel or The nation of Israel I'm speaking about Jacob whose name was changed and his descendants who formed the 12 tribes and the ancient kingdom and future ethnic descendants. I'm never speaking about the modern geopolitical state.
I know that some users have two user names. Are you also Inquisitor?
but enough of their seed MUST receive those promises. Yes, The Messiah is heir according to those promises but so is a remnant of ethnic Israel.
We can certainly look at what the minimum remnant are.
Q) Who is the remnant of Israel?
A) The 144,000
Let me propose a counter interpretation:
The 144k represent OT saints of the tribes, and the transition of John's vision to see a multitude of those dressed in white represents the change into the NT covenant, and that the 144k have blended into the crowd and become indistinct (also dressed in white/Christ). The multitude do not represent Gentile converts, but all Christians regardless of origin, from all nations and people.
Q) So who are those currently in the land?
A) Esau/Edom, as the scriptures prophesied would happen and as history confirms.
Many Israeli people have high content of Canaanite ancestry, according to at least one study. But this goes back to the dilemma of determining ancestry. There is at least one user on here that proposed the idea that when Paul converted to Christianity that he ceased being part of Israel (invalid to inherit the promises through bloodline).
There are strange aspects of ontology that need to be hashed out to reach any consensus about ancestry.
Even the ontology of what it means to be in Christ needs to be hashed out.
If a promise was made to flesh, and man and wife become one in flesh, do they not then share that same promise? If the Church is the wife and Christ is the bridegroom, do they not share things after marriage that they did not previously share before marriage?
If a promise is made to a body and something is consumed and integrated into the body, does that promise not also then apply to that integrated part?