I think that merely spiritualising details in Old Testament Prophecy (the way many Post- and A-Millennial adherents to Covenant Theology do) still misses one aspect of the way the New Testament treated Old Testament Prophecy:
Prophecies which said Israel meant Israel!
(And prophecies which said the Temple meant the Temple; prophecies which said sacrifices meant sacrifices; and prophecies which said Levites meant Levites; and prophecies which meant Gentiles said Gentiles).
Of course it's correct that the New Testament doesn't see the future of those details in Bible-Prophecy as still-future.
It's also correct of course that the New Testament describes Christ - and all true believers in Him (Jews first, and also Gentiles) - as the true temple, the eternal priesthood, offering true sacrifices...
...but the spiritual sacrifices which we offer are not the sacrifices Ezekiel was talking about!
The spiritual realities which we now have in Christ came about precisely because God literally fulfilled His promises to Israel first - not 'before' fulfilling His promises to Israel, and not 'instead' of fulfilling His promises to Israel!
So, that's not Dispensationalism - but neither does it simply spiritualise the identities and objects in Prophecy. There was a fulfilment of Israel's promises - on the ground, in Israel, among Israelis, for Israelis - and in that historical and geographical context, God completed the prophesied narrative, in the Person of His Son. And that's what Gentiles have been grafted in to.
So, that's both literal and spiritual. The spiritual came about as a result of literal fulfilment.
If there hasn't already come the literal fulfilment, then the spiritual realities we're claiming lack their foundation (their Scriptural, historical, geographical and objective foundation).
Prophecies which said Israel meant Israel!
(And prophecies which said the Temple meant the Temple; prophecies which said sacrifices meant sacrifices; and prophecies which said Levites meant Levites; and prophecies which meant Gentiles said Gentiles).
Of course it's correct that the New Testament doesn't see the future of those details in Bible-Prophecy as still-future.
It's also correct of course that the New Testament describes Christ - and all true believers in Him (Jews first, and also Gentiles) - as the true temple, the eternal priesthood, offering true sacrifices...
...but the spiritual sacrifices which we offer are not the sacrifices Ezekiel was talking about!
The spiritual realities which we now have in Christ came about precisely because God literally fulfilled His promises to Israel first - not 'before' fulfilling His promises to Israel, and not 'instead' of fulfilling His promises to Israel!
So, that's not Dispensationalism - but neither does it simply spiritualise the identities and objects in Prophecy. There was a fulfilment of Israel's promises - on the ground, in Israel, among Israelis, for Israelis - and in that historical and geographical context, God completed the prophesied narrative, in the Person of His Son. And that's what Gentiles have been grafted in to.
So, that's both literal and spiritual. The spiritual came about as a result of literal fulfilment.
If there hasn't already come the literal fulfilment, then the spiritual realities we're claiming lack their foundation (their Scriptural, historical, geographical and objective foundation).
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