Dispensationalism - Distinction between Israel and the Church

All dispensationalists hold to a clear distinction between Israel and the Church. For dispensationalists, Israel is an ethnic nation^[10] consisting of Hebrews (Israelites), beginning with Abraham and continuing in existence to the present. The Church consists of all saved individuals in this present dispensation—i.e., from the "birth of the Church" in Acts until the time of the Rapture.^[11] The distinction between Israel and the Church is not mutually exclusive, as there is a recognized overlap between the two.^[1]:295 The overlap consists of Jewish Christians (such as Peter and Paul – although the Apostle Paul was also a Roman citizen, by birth, he was of the tribe of Benjamin and a strong Jewish nationalist at heart (Rom 9:1-3)) - who are ethnically Jewish and also have faith in Jesus Christ. Dispensationalists also believe that toward the end of theTribulation, Israel as a nation will turn and embrace Jesus as their messiah right before his second coming during the Great Tribulation. Classical dispensationalists refer to the present day Church as a "parenthesis" or temporary interlude in the progress of Israel's prophesied history.^[13] Progressive dispensationalism "softens" the Church/Israel distinction by seeing some Old Testament promises as expanded by the New Testament to include the Church. However, progressives never view this expansion as replacing promises to its original audience,