In a world dominated by religions trading members and collecting untold sums of money in the process Israelites are commonly confused when held to the preconceptions of the religious orders of the world. That is because Israelite has an assumed religious connotation because of the bible which is used by a number of different religions. However, an Israelite is first a nationality. It is first the descendants of the scriptural patriarch Ya`aqob (Jacob) whose name was changed to Yisra’el (Israel).  Descent among Hebrews was determined by the father. Second, it represents anyone else who might become a citizen of the nation of Yisra’el by keeping the laws given to it by YHVH (Yahweh) their elohim (G-d), and the tribe of Judah which Yahweh chose to be the rulers. Yisra’el was a nation, not a religion.
 
As a nation there was no separation between church and state just as there was no separation of the two in the lives of Israelites. The Levites were the priests and the tribe of Judah were the rulers but the priests were not the same as pastors. They had a specific function in regards to the temple and sacrificial system and were supported by a national tax called tithe along with widows and fatherless children. The government of Israel was not originally designed to have kings. However, the people begged for a king like other nations had and so ironically they were given a king just like other nations had; Saul, a man who craved power above the greater good of his people. Once kings were in place, Israel began to suffer the same fates as nations around them every time they had an unrighteous king. It was natural for people to follow the king as sheep following a shepherd and so they did just that whether the man was righteous or not. Perhaps, it began as an assumption that a good king would be succeeded by his son and his son would be a good king. This is, however, a flawed assumption.
 
Many kings were very secular; however, Yahweh never forsook his people and allowed them to follow after wicked kings so that they could be taught a greater lesson about following and influence. Yahweh raised up prophets who would speak for him irrespective of the government. These prophets provided a check and balance on the king who did not necessarily have the ear of Yahweh nor did they listen in return. For this reason the nation of Israel had an off again on again affair with Yahweh.
 
Although Israel was a nation, not a religion, Yisra’el, like many nations had a higher power thought to have authority over any authority possessed by men. But unlike other nations the elohim (or ‘all powerful’) of Yisra’el showed miracles and prophetic signs to prove that he was real and to publish his deeds among many nations. He also helped to establish a law which included both the standard elements that people were already familiar with and other elements that they did not know and were not passed down from their forefathers. However, the law was also a living document in the sense that at any time Yahweh could add to it. Because the law did not exist to spell out each possible sin it was mostly used to teach the principle of good vs. evil.

However, when the actions of another people might have a negative influence on his people Yahweh might give specific directives against those specific activities. These helped define and separate the beliefs and practices of Yisra’el vs. the many different cultures of those nations surrounding them who they quite commonly mixed with, traded good with, and married. In a world of conformity where the standards kept waning and the people kept moving further and further away from the one true Creator, it was the law of Yahweh that, so long as they obeyed, kept this part of humanity from following the downward spiral into a state of hell on earth. Often, people did not see this as protection, as short-sighted people are prone to do, and they rebelled. Since they wanted to experience life outside of Yah’s protection Yahweh allowed them to fall victims to the greed and lusts of their neighbors. They were killed, enslaved, and occupied. However, Yahweh did not allow them to be utterly wiped out or lose their identity. At least not just yet….
 
A nation is ultimately an organization. It may begin as a family but when one unit of the nation is threatened the entire nation is threatened and so the resources of many come to bear for the protection of the one. Many great nations, even the ones capable of building great structures, ceased to be; even giants such as Egypt and Rome who conquered others. Without righteousness people tend to follow out of fear. They follow because they think they have to. They follow because they think the person they are following is a representation of themselves. For an Israelite there is one who must ultimately be followed and one who ultimately protects and saves. There is one who is to them like a father and who represents their wants and needs. That one is Yahweh and those who truly understand that culture understand their place in it and that Yahweh can use anyone he choose to judge and to save, create and sacrifice, make peace or war, all in the best interest of those who love him and choose to follow him.
 
There are many modern groups calling themselves Israelites. Some are honest people who understand Hebrew Scripture and its culture. Some others are dishonest people who are looking for a means to explain their own situation and sense of justice. There are people who honor the law and people who might wish to remake it in their own image. There are people who act religious and people who simply do what they do because it’s the right thing. There are people to try to resurrect the surface elements of what they think their ancestors looked like and others who simply try to reproduce the character of Yahweh in their lives. Some groups are cults. Some are not. Some only gravitate into sects while others are independent and do not have congregations. Ultimately, an Israelite is one who is either a descendant of Yisra’el or one who accepts the authority of Yahweh. Of course neither group is ever immune to being cut off for whatever crime or reason Yahweh chooses.
 
The future of Israel was always that it was a son of the Creator. It was the firstborn son that Yahweh was grooming to be his children and to restore dominion to after humanity’s failure and fall into the cyclonic downward spiral into sin. Yisra’el was also a sacrifice to the world in that it was used as an example. And among Yisra’el there was no greater example than the man Y’shua, also known as the messiah and a prophet. Not every Israelite then or now believes in Y’shua. However, it doesn’t change the fact that he was the one chosen to be the second Adam. He was the one chosen to be the final king. And as a king he would lead the world back to the garden of Eden, back to the place where our paths deviated. It is a common belief that those who do not believe in Y’shua are cut off as Israelites, but there will always be a remnant.
 
There are no other rules or definitions for an Israelite beyond what I have named. The law presents the Israelite with boundaries based on both the letter of the law and the principle taught by the letter. Within those boundaries lies true freedom. Outside those boundaries no one is free, not the sinner, not the people they sin against. Y’shua spoke of the Kingdom of Elohim, a return to perfection in which Yahweh rules each heart. Today, freedom is thought to be getting away with doing whatever you want. And people are never satisfied and maximize that freedom by trying every which way to get around the law for their own desires. Other people get hurt but they desire power more than the greater good of all. They don’t simply rebel against Yahweh, but against each other. And because they love themselves above others they seek to serve themselves even at the expense of others. And when a heart is corrupt like this it has a natural resistance to anything telling it to refrain from doing its own will. But for an Israelite the will of Yahweh is better and provides a better world in which to grow and in which to live and love. Because it is based on love and service to others it does not require that one is free only at the expense of someone else. Perhaps not even every Israelite understand the true and absolute freedom, the life giving, life saving, and holistic sensibilities of the law nor is this required. By simply maintaining the boundaries of good and evil an Israelite can help build a better future.
 
But in conclusion, the identity of Israel, I would say, is a temporary construct. Israel was defined and separated out from among the world in a state of worldly chaos. The violence and bloodshed that Israel had to go through was because of the world and the influence of sin even more so than the influence of Yahweh to keep evil from complete victory. And even the teachings and laws given to Israel were transitional to help them overcome the world around them. And after the world around them is destroyed they will simply be the remnant of Adam (the name given to humanity) that will continue to live in righteousness. This is by no means an exclusive club. It simply represents all those who love Yahweh and follow him. The destruction that will follow will not be born of hatred for the world but love for it. Only those who choose not to live will die while those willing to sacrifice themselves will live. And in living they will be what humanity was designed to be from the beginning.