In the video below, Scott Ritsema points out that, in Romans 11, the Israel of God is symbolized by only one olive tree, and that tree consists only of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s mode of expression has led to some misunderstandings, and I will address those in a future article. But Scott correctly points out that the main and indisputable lesson of Paul’s olive tree metaphor is that there is only one path to salvation, and it is through Jesus Christ.
The olive tree represents true Israel, the Israel of God. Jews who do not accept Christ are branches broken off from the tree, whereas believing gentiles, whom Paul analogizes to wild olive shoots, are grafted into the tree. So if the Jews who did not believe in Jesus are broken off, and gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ are grafted into the tree, all of the branches are believers in Jesus Christ!
Scott also addresses the claim of Christian Zionists that there must be a third temple. The Old Testament promises that pointed to a return and a rebuilding were fulfilled by the return from Babylon and the rebuilding under Ezra and Nehemiah. There is no third temple alluded to anywhere in Scripture.
Moreover, everything in the temple pointed toward the sacrifice of Christ; that sacrifice having been accomplished, there will never again be a need for an earthly temple. Jesus predicted that the temple would be destroyed, with not one stone left upon another. Daniel also predicted the destruction of the temple near the time of Christ. (See, Daniel 9) The destruction of the temple in 70 AD was according to God’s plan, the imposition of God’s judgment, fulfilling numerous prophecies. The Scriptures are clear that the only temple that matters is a spiritual temple composed of Christian believers. (Eph. 2:19-22; 2 Cor. 6:16)