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- [00:00]
A
The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. What is the distinction between the church and Israel? What is replacement theology? Has the New Testament Church replaced Israel? Let's talk about these questions today here on Grace in Focus. And we appreciate you joining us today. This is a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We have a website, faithalone.org Lots to learn about us there. And we also have a YouTube channel, YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. We release videos weekly and we want you to come sign up and enjoy those videos like them. And it is YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. Once again. Our website is faithalone.org and now with today's question and answer discussion, here's Bob Wilken along with Sam Marr.
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B
I think you have a question, Sam, from someone about Israel and the church.
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C
Yeah, it's a question from Ron. He said basically he was trying to explain the distinction between the church and Israel to someone and he feels he didn't do a great job of it. So he wants one, some scripture to point to that shows that they're distinct. And then two, if you were explaining this to someone that either believes that the church replaced Israel or just doesn't really have an opinion on it, how would you explain this to them clearly?
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B
Okay, so really good question, Ron. Thank you for asking it. Let me start by discussing what this issue is. It's called replacement theology, or sometimes it's called supersessionism. Replacement theology is the idea that because of Israel's long rejection of God and rebellion against God and his rule over Israel, culminating when Jesus came, when Messiah came, the nation rejected him. Replacement theology says at that point God washed his hands of Israel. The former Israel had been God's chosen people, but now the church became God's chosen people. And of course there's all the promises made to Israel, the promises made to Abraham, to Isaac, to, to Jacob. They were promised that they were going to have the land. And they were promised that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be numbered like the stars and like the sands of the seashore. Well, that's never happened. Israel has never been the dominant world power. It's never been a huge nation. There is a day coming when Israel will be that. And that's going to be the millennium. And on the new ear, Israel will be the world power. Jesus will rule from the new Jerusalem. So replacement theology ultimately means that the promises made have been taken away. If you have your Bible there, Sam, look at Romans, chapter 11. I believe it's verse 29 that talks about the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Yep.
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C
29 says, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet now have obtained mercy through their disobedience.
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B
Right. Now, if you look at that, the word irrevocable is essentially a synonym for irreplaceable. And if you look earlier in verse 26, Paul says what then? All Israel will be saved.
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C
Yep. And so all Israel will be saved as it is written then he quotes from Old Testament.
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B
Yeah. What happens is at the end of the tribulation, every adult Jew will be a believer. And when it talks about all Israel will be saved, it means more than all Israel will be born again. It means all of the adult Jews in Israel will be delivered from gentile domination and will become part of the ruling nation. It doesn't mean that all the children in Israel are going to be born again. They won't. Babies in Israel are going to go into the kingdom and children are going to go into the kingdom, but that doesn't mean they're born again. But they're all going to be saved. Even all of the children will be saved. And just like they were saved out of Egypt when the nation was brought out of slavery from Egypt, so the nation will be saved from gentile domination. Replacement theology is very dangerous for many reasons, one of which is it contradicts scripture. In other words, if the gifts and calling of God are revocable, well then how do I know that my salvation is not going to be taken away? Right. How would Ron know that his everlasting life is really everlasting life?
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A
Yeah.
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C
Or from the church's perspective, if the church replaced Israel, but then if the church is disobedient, let's say for 2,000 years, then is there going to be a third party that receives it because it's revoked from the church and given to another group?
- [05:29]
B
Yeah, that's a very good point. In fact, there's a verse in First Corinthians, maybe you can look it up. First Corinthians 10:32. Lots of dispensationalists believe this verse points out not only the three groups who exist today, but the three groups that will exist in eternity.
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C
Yeah. It says, give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God.
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B
Okay, no offense to the Jews, the Greeks, the church of God. The Greeks are the nations or the Gentiles, the Jews are Israel. And that would include both redeemed and unredeemed Jews In Romans 9, 10, 11 Paul talks about a remnant. There's a remnant of Jews who are born again in his generation and in every generation, or to the church of God. So today there are people who are born again, and that's the church of God. But there are also Greeks, I.e. gentiles, who are not born of God. And there are Jews, that is Jews who are not born of God. But in the millennium there will be Israel, which will be made up of believing and unbelieving Jews, and the nations, the Greeks, which will be made up of believing and unbelieving Gentiles, and the church, which will be made up exclusively of regenerate people who have been glorified. So we will be in glorified bodies. Some in Israel will be in glorified bodies, some in the nations will be in glorified bodies, but there will be people in natural bodies in Israel and the nations during the millennium Just jumping.
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A
In here to make you aware of our magazine Grace in Focus. It is a bi monthly, six issues per year, 48 page magazine, full color, and we want you to subscribe by emailing your name and your snail mail address to gesaithalone.org the subscription is free. It can be accessed electronically or can be actually physically sent to you if you live in the lower 48 United States. That's our Grace and Focus magazine. Send your name and snail mail address to gesaithalone.org.
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B
By the way, I have a quote here Sam from gotquestions.org about this question. Maybe you could read what they say. I like their statement here.
- [07:51]
C
Right. It says, According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile river in Egypt to Lebanon and everything from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River. So on today's map, the land God promised to Israel included everything in modern day Israel, plus the territory occupied by the Palestinians, plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus some of Jordan, some of Saudi Arabia, some of Iraq. So basically what they're saying is the land that Israel was promised, they have never fully attained. They've never had all of the land that God promised them in Genesis.
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B
And these land promises were unconditional, conditional promises. They weren't conditioned upon anything other. It's true that the nation had to be a believing nation and a repentant nation. So in that sense they were conditional, but they were unconditional in the sense that God guaranteed this would be fulfilled. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were guaranteed this would happen to them and they would be in the land in the future and as part of Israel. And so the idea that somehow they're not going to get this is wrong. By the way, have you ever heard the chants from the river to the sea? Yep. Do you notice that quote they have from the river to the sea in two different ways, you know, and the river to the sea is not promised to the quote, unquote. Palestinians. From the river to the sea is promised to Israel. And they've never had the land they've been promised. So that will be fulfilled one day. Now, there's also a danger, a great danger, that if we adopt replacement theology, it will ultimately lead toward anti Semitism. Now, it doesn't always, but there are lots of people within Christianity who believes in replacement theology. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant traditions believe replacement theology. And historically this has been true. For example, Martin Luther, later in life became anti Semitic. He wrote a book in 1543 called the Jews and Their Lies. And in it he recommended a lot of hostile acts toward the Jewish people. For example, Noam Morans has written a review of that book. And in it he said, frustrated by Jewish steadfastness and misinformed regarding Jewish practices, Luther in his later life undid his early openness toward the Jewish people. So Noam is saying, yeah, early on he was very open to the Jewish people. And Noam goes on and penned anti Jewish rants on the Jews and their lives is a patently anti Semitic doctrine. And he goes on to say that he recommended raising synagogues, destroying Jewish homes, confiscating Jewish holy books, banning Jewish religious worship, expropriating Jewish money and deporting Jews. So replacement theology led Martin Luther to antisemitism. And the same was true in the Catholic Church for many years. I would also suggest reading A book, a 1999 book by John Cornwell called Hitler's the Secret History of Pius xii. In it, he relates that the cardinal who became Pope made an agreement with Hitler that he would not be critical of Nazi Germany. And he wasn't during World War II and the lead up to World War II. Some people have criticized the book. You can see what you think, But I would recommend the book. And I think it shows some of the problems with replacement theology. Replacement theology, Sam, may be well intentioned, but it's unbiblical. It takes away the promises made to Israel to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It undercuts the Abrahamic covenant, it undercuts the Davidic covenant, it undercuts the land promises. And so no matter how well intentioned it is, it's wrong. God is going to be faithful to Israel. Israel is, was and will be God's chosen people. Now admittedly now it's not a believing nation, but there are a remnant of believing Jews around the planet and Israel will come to faith during the tribulation. And so we should be praying for the peace of Israel, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. And we should love the Jewish people. I hope that helps. Ron and remember, keep Grace in focus.
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