Natural Israel is as Ishmael

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was after the promise.

Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which genders to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answers to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:22-26).

The New Covenant Jerusalem is not a city in the Middle East. Jerusalem is the city of God from heaven. There is no prophetic significance to the city of Jerusalem in Israel today. That city is in bondage. We can cast every Muslim and Arab that we like to out of Jerusalem and it will still be in bondage. There is no advantage in removing the Mosque and building a temple. They are both alike a rejection of Jesus Christ.

The second point of the above passage is that Paul shows that natural Israel is Ishmael. Ishmael was the son of Hagar. He was Abraham’s seed according to the flesh. Israel as a nation is also Abraham’s seed according to the flesh. Abraham’s seed are those born according to the promise, not according to the flesh. Paul told the Jews that unless they are in Christ, they are the seed of the flesh, just as Ishmael was.