← Wretched Radio with Todd Friel
Wretched Radio with Todd Friel
Israel, Christians, & God’s Redemptive Plan
00:54:59
Segment 1 • There have been many contentious conversations lately about things evangelicals have largely taken for granted. • Todd introduces a major cultural debate: should Christians support modern Israel—or rethink everything?
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Transcript22 lines
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Todd Friel
Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1.
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Jimmy Hicks
If it brings her to the same
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Michael J. Vlach
point that it brings you, it doesn't matter whether she called it God along the way or not. That understanding works for you, so therefore it is absolutely right for you. All beliefs have become only relatively true. And of course, to the world, religion is just some personalized experience, not a divine revelation. And the church is catching the disease.
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Todd Friel
It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.
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Michael J. Vlach
Finally, some clarity. This is Wretched Radio, courtesy of Tucker Carlson, who perhaps is the first fellow for as long as I've been in evangelicalism, has been asking questions about our relationship as Christians with the nation of Israel. And as we've seen, there's been some rather contentious moments, some debate, hey, are we supposed to be supporting this state of Israel? They're not the Jews of the Old Testament. Why are we doing what we're doing? Should we be involved militarily? Do we really get blessed for blessing Israel? And Tucker's been asking those questions. I don't know if he's been looking for answers in all the right places. I hold in my never before nicotine stained fingers. Clarity. I don't know if you're familiar with Michael J. Vlock V L A C H. He currently is a professor of theology at Shepherd's Theological Seminary, North Carolina. I believe Michael used to be at Master's seminary, moved to South Carolina, which I don't mind saying was a very good move. South Carolina's beautiful. And he wrote a lengthy, well, it's shorter than his book, but he wrote a lengthy treatise titled Modern Israel and Israel in the Bible clarifying the relationship. Is this light sledding? No, but it's a heavy subject and it demands a little bit more than just a tweet. His book, which is a fuller treatment, is Israel in the Bible storyline. I am going to share a lot of this. This is one of those rare articles where pretty much everything gets marked up. Yep, that's good. Yep, that's good. This is going to take a little bit of effort, but I'm going to read. I'll try to keep my commentary at a minimum, but I'm going to share this article with you because it is the first treatment of the subject that was thorough and detailed enough to go, okay, we don't have every single question resolved as to what should we be doing today with Israel? Because that's a relationship that's alive and it changes on a daily basis, but it gives us, I think, a clear biblical picture of God's attitude toward Israel and where Israel is at in God's redemptive plan. And by the time it's done, at the very least you're going to be able to go, okay, I got it. I think that this is the right way to view modern day Israel. I suspect I could be wrong. Michael might be a dispensationalist, I suspect that. But this doesn't come across as a dispensational treatment, nor does it come across as a covenantal treatment. It just deals with what the Bible says. What are the big passages about Israel and. Yeah, Genesis, 12, 15, 17. Yeah, they're part of. But there are other verses that are bigger and more helpful and so courtesy of Michael Block. Thank you, sir. I'm going to plagiarize. I mean, use a lot of his material. Hey, it's not plagiarism. If I tell you I'm sharing it because it's really good. He's going to take some time to study the relationship between Israel in the Bible and Israel today. How do we treat this nation? His argument. So he's not going to sneak up on you. Here's his position. Israel as a people and nation always remains significant in God's purposes. I think everybody should agree with that. I think even Tucker Carlson should agree with that. But Vlach goes on to make his point even more specific. Just where he's at on it so that you know where the guy's coming from. He believes that Israel remains significant in God's purposes and today's Jewish state, though currently in unbelief, remains closely connected to the Israel described in scripture. There it is. Now you might not agree with that. Fair enough. Hang on for the ride. By the time Michael is done, I think you will have plenty to chew on to reconsider your position and he's going to make it crystal clear. Does this mean that we support every military or political decision? Obviously not. Israel is a pro abortion nation. Of course we don't support that. But that doesn't mean that the zip code known as Israel currently occupied by Jewish people doesn't have any sort of biblical relationship to the Israel of the Bible. So let's jump in, shall we? To understand the relationship between Old Testament Israel and modern state, you got to understand what Israel means. What is it? What is Israel? I know it seems like duh, but we all kind of understand it. We think. But what does the Bible say about Israel? In scripture, it's an ethnic, national and territorial people. Ethnic, national and territorial. It's described as a Great nation promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:2. So first, the ethnic aspect of it. The nation descends from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the tribes of Israel with an identifiable lineage. Jacob's name in Genesis 32 was changed to Israel. So Israelites were the physical descendants of Jacob, who is named Israel by God himself. So the promises to Abraham and his descendants assume the existence of a real people tied together by ancestry. And thanks to Ancestry.com, we can actually do that today. Yet Israel was never completely closed to outsiders. So they could be proselytites. They would come in and attach themselves to Israel and to Israel's God. Think Ruth, for instance. Second, it's a national entity. Israel became a nation with law and leadership, corporate responsibility before God. This is the Mosaic covenant at Mount Sinai. It was not merely a collection of people who got together, who had some religious beliefs. It was a people with a shared history, language, worship patterns of life, own laws, festivals, institutions, collective memory that distinguished it from surrounding peoples. So that's the national identity aspect. And this is important because you got to ask yourself the question, well then, what about the people today? And what do we do when we look at it? And it's like, well, they don't really believe anything in the Mosaic covenant for the most part. Vlach will tackle that for us. But third, to understand what Israel is, it's linked with a territory that's Genesis 15. God told Abraham, I'm going to give you that land and it's going to be a part of the Abrahamic covenant which continues forever. There is no inkling of any suggestion in the Bible that says that the Abrahamic covenant is no longer in place. It is a forever covenant. So God's choice of Israel was corporate in purpose, didn't depend on personal salvation or faithfulness of every Israelite of every generation in its history. Israel was chosen to serve specific historical and international purposes in God's plan. That's already instructive. And he's going to spend more time on, well, what do we do with modern day Jews that don't believe in Messiah? They don't even believe in the Mosaic covenant. They're just culturally Jewish. Vlock's point is that was always the case. Not every Jew, we have a tendency to think, well, all the Jews in the Old Testament were believing Jews. I can tell you for a fact they weren't. Because first of all, Paul says not everybody who is born of Abraham is Abraham's seed. Furthermore, didn't Jesus call them out on that? And even in Jesus time didn't the Pharisees have a name for non practicing Jews? They did, and it was a nasty pejorative. Sinners. They were considered sinners because they were wayward from the Jewish faith and yet they were still considered Jewish. Why? Because they were a part of that land, they were a part of that ethnicity and they had that same identity with the same lineage. And so now we're going to ask the question eventually. Well, what about the people of today? Do they share all of those things? We'll get to that in just a moment. Another important feature of Israel is that the nation is transgenerational. It's not just one generation living at a particular time. It was God's land, his choice of a people for all generations. So it has a continuing national identity that Scripture speaks of as a people whose identity extends across time. So I think we could agree on this at the very least for Tucker Carlson's sake. For instance, what do we do with the existence of the Jewish people? Do we act like they're, I don't know. Pick a nationality. They're Japanese. It's just like a Japanese Japan. That's it. So when it comes to Japan, there just has nothing to do with the Bible? Well, you can hardly say that. Furthermore, the reestablishment of the nation of Israel, while not an end time sign necessarily, you've got to ask yourself the question, how is it that they are now reoccupying that land 2,000 years after they were dispersed from it? You can't say there was nothing. Let me take you to Matthew 23. Jesus laments over Jerusalem and says, you will not see me again. Blessed is he who comes. Until you hear, blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord. So he's addressing the generation before him while pointing to a future generation of Israel that will welcome him. It assumes that the nation continues across time. Furthermore, you've got the Abrahamic covenant. The point being, as long as the created order remains, Israel remains a nation before God. And you can point to, for instance, Jeremiah 33. If my covenant for day and night stand out, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and and David my servant. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them. In other words, God is not done with the nation of Israel. That brings some clarity, but not total. We'll seek to accomplish that next on Wretched Radio.
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Jimmy Hicks
No retreat. That's the name of Fortis Institute's Spring Match campaign. And here's why. The culture we live in right now has made it pretty clear it has very little interest in the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're being told to keep our faith quiet in public or to soften what we believe so it goes down easier. Fortas Institute has no intention of doing either one. We exist to advance the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this spring we're doing it as loudly and as boldly as we know how. Your gift will help launch two new podcasts. It puts Todd Friel's new book, Go Serve Your King into print through HarperCollins, and it puts the gospel back onto college campuses where it's least welcome and most needed. Our goal is $250,000, and we're asking if you would prayerfully consider helping us get there. You can find out more right now@fortisinstitute.org donate
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Michael J. Vlach
perhaps you've been wondering, is there a Christian university that isn't woke or that hasn't compromised on important biblical doctrines like, you know, the Age of the Earth? There is. It's the Master's University in Southern California. Beautiful campus, all of the athletics and activities that you've come to expect from universities. But it's more than that. The academic programs are most excellent, preparing students for the future. The Washington Post just said number six for preparing students for the real world. All that, plus the Master's University isn't woke, and it is thoroughly biblical. Would you like to learn more? I encourage you to visit the Master's University at Masters. Edu Wretched Masters. Edu Wretched.
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Jimmy Hicks
Hey, thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. You know, finding Bible teachers you can actually trust, it's not as easy as it used to be. There is a lot of content out there, but not all of it's faithful. That's what Fortis Institute is building. We've brought together a team of fellows, people like Tim Challis, Dr. Jason Lyle, Dr. Andrew Walker, Dr. Greg Gifford, Pastor Brad Bigny, Todd Friel, Dr. John Kratz, Libby Glossin, Dr. Adam Tyson. And they're all committed to teaching the Word without apology. These aren't influencers. They're not chasing trends. These are serious teachers doing serious work. And the reason that we've been able to bring voices like this together in one place is because of our gospel partners, men and women just like you, who find value in what we're doing at Fortis Institute. And if you appreciate what we're doing and you want to be a part of it, would you consider joining us as an ongoing monthly gospel partner Help us to continue building something that matters. Just go to portisinstitute.org right now. Wretched Amazing grace. Amazing Gospel.
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Todd Friel
Know your church fathers. Clement of rome, lived from A.D. 30 to 100, was a student of the Apostle Peter and served as the Bishop of Rome. He wrote a letter to the troubled church in Corinth warning against envy and immorality, emphasizing humility and repentance. His letter continued to be read during worship services for 80 years. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.
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Michael J. Vlach
Well, you don't have to yell at me, Jimmy. Sorry.
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Jimmy Hicks
It's okay.
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Michael J. Vlach
This is Wretched Radio. You're shouting at me on the tv. You're yelling at me in writing. This is what my TV monitor says where I can see Jimmy's mushroom. No retreat Spring match. Say it or else. That's hostile. That is a hostile work environment. And I am going to be talking to HR very, very soon. And you can expect a strongly worded reprimand.
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Jimmy Hicks
Young man, I didn't say what the Oriels is.
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Michael J. Vlach
That's fair enough. I will mention it, however, because it's so important. Right now we've got a matching gift campaign which is awesome. Thank you to the people who have participated already. If you have not, please consider doing so. We just want to do more and more and we want to give it all away. That's all. We just want more and more people to know the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if you have discretionary income because you're already supporting your local church, please would you visit fortisinstitute.org donate you can see what we're up to, what the plans are, the big plans that we have so that we can just reach more people with great news. Fortisinstitute.org donate but Jimmy didn't yell at me. Simply in writing during the break, you informed me that Michael Vlock. And you know, when you said it, it's like, yep, I think I remember that he is a dispensationalist. Like, big time. Oh, yeah, all right, fair enough. He's written books on it.
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Jimmy Hicks
Oh, yes. Yeah.
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Michael J. Vlach
But this article, I'm telling you, this article, I don't think that anybody who's a Covenantalist would find anything that was like, oh, he's just bending dispensational. I thought it was just a very fair treatment of what we do with modern day Israel in light of Old Testament Israel. What is God doing with that nation, if anything? And he answers that with a lengthy treatment. This is long, I grant you. And by the way if you are only getting the 30 minute broadcast on your station. Super sorry. We're going to try to cover all of this and it's going to take a bit because it's a big subject. You can hear the whole thing@fortisplus.org if you would like to Michael walks through how the Bible treats Israel and the bigger verses are not just in the Abrahamic covenant. Those are the ones that get bandied around. And so we debate the question, well, do we get blessed if we bless Israel as it states in Genesis chapter 12? We gotta look at the rest of the Bible to understand that and to sort it. And for the most part I think he helps us to accomplish some clarity. Let me share with you a lot from this particular article. Israel transcends any particular generation. The nation may experience exile, dispersion across the world and may even become few in number among the nations. That would be your Deuteronomy 4:27 Rexella but it remains the same covenant, people and God's purposes. I know there's like, well what about the church? Hang in there. He doesn't even deal with that quite honestly. A little bit, but not a ton. He's simply focusing on God's promises to Israel and how the Bible talks about Israel. And his point is Israel wasn't just back then and there's going to be something that happens, Tucker, you can't deny it. There is a plan for Israel. And so now we just need to sort out how do we view them in between their rejection of the Messiah which entered into, which ushered in the age of the Gentiles, to when this future plan unfolds. Whatever you think the details and the timeline is on that, and also because of God's covenant with Abraham, Israel is a people whose national existence continues throughout history. Even if it's removed from the land, it's still treated as having an ongoing relationship to it. Consider the dispersion. They're in Assyria. They've been taken away. But does God call them not his people? No, they're not living in the land still his people. The reason that they got dispersed is because they weren't obeying his covenant, still called them his people. So you had a bunch of unbelievers in Israel who got swept away to a different territory and yet we're still considered Israel. Furthermore, Jeremiah 16 promises the Lord will bring Israel back to their own land, which I gave to their fathers. So the land was given way back then. He's going to return this current generation back to the land not today, but back in Jeremiah's day, back to the land. In other words, there's a continuity between Abraham and. And the children of Israel all the way with Moses throughout the period of the Judges kings. It's still their land. Even when they were dispersed. Jesus indicated Gentile domination of Jerusalem would have ultimately a. A limit. The city would be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And it's about God's plan that will one day have a different and better situation for Jerusalem. In other words, the Bible throughout Old and New Testament talks about Israel in continuity, that it never disappeared, it never stopped being a nation, even when they weren't in the land. He talks about the remnant within Israel that even though the Bible affirms Israel's identity as a nation, it recognizes that the nation isn't a faithful remnant that truly trusts the Lord. I think that was one of Tucker's concerns. And these people don't even act Jewish, right? And they didn't in the Old Testament either. They weren't acting Jewish, if you will, when Jesus arrived. And so they don't have to be, if you will, acting Jewish today in order to still be considered Israel, even when they're not in the zip code. And so from Romans chapter 11, all of the other passages in Romans chapter 2 really 9 through 11, highlight the spiritual dimension of belonging to God's people while preserving the larger national identity of Israel in Scripture. In other words, it's not a versus, it's a plus. There are people who are. All of the people are considered Jewish even if they aren't practicing the religion. The New Testament continues to treat Israel as a recognizable national entity within God's unfolding plan. So here's an example. Jesus promised the apostles would sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Well, hold on a second. 12 tribes of Israel, who are those people? Well, God clearly sees Israel as Israel, even until Revelation. Peter spoke of future restoration connected to Israel's repentance. And Paul said he stood trial for the hope of the 12 tribes. That's Acts 26, and anticipated the future salvation of all Israel in Romans chapter 11. Now, so far we haven't answered all the questions. I think we're going to get to that. But so far, if you're listening, Tucker, national Israel has always been national Israel and will forever be national Israel, even when they are not meeting the standard of the Mosaic covenant or participation as Jews or even necessarily speaking the language. God in the Bible makes it clear now let's talk about the covenantal pattern for Israel's history. So you got big sections. Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28:30, Deuteronomy 32, Ezekiel 20, Romans 11. He calls them the interpretive anchors. Those are the big verses you got to look at. The easy stuff is the Genesis business. But if you want clarity as far as God's covenantal relationship with the Jewish people and what it looks like today, well, you've got to look at these other verses. If you neglect them, you're going to come up with just not a very full understanding. And so for somebody like Tucker who's scratching his head and going, what am I supposed to do with this? Because it doesn't seem like. And they're scattered all over and you've got different types of Jews. What am I supposed. You gotta go to the Bible and you've gotta read these anchor verses. And when you study those texts, something emerges. They predict Israel's rebellion, they predict Israel's discipline, the scattering among the nations. And not a single verse suggests that the exile results in the dissolution of Israel as a people or the permanent loss of their national identity and role in God's purposes. What do we do with Israel? Number one, we recognize it's Israel. We do have to answer more questions, but I think that we have established this, I think, courtesy of Michael Vlock, that the Bible does not suggest God's relationship with Israel is done. No verse indicates Israel will transition into a purely spiritual community disconnected from the nation itself. Instead, the same passages that warn of judgment always promised for Israel repentance, regathering and restoration. So the covenantal pattern assumes Israel's continued existence as a people whom God will ultimately restore. And you can see that in Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28:30, obedience would bring blessing in the land. Persistent disobedience would bring discipline and exile. That's Deuteronomy 28:30. Dispersion among the nations would not be the final chapter. Fourth, God promises restoration always for Israel. And later prophets reaffirmed the same covenant structure in Ezekiel 20. So you put all of those passages together. So the covenantal pattern governing Israel's history, blessing, discipline in exile, dispersion, future restoration with regathering and spiritual transformation. It unfolds in that structure which the New Testament then affirms in passages like Romans 11. And that brings us to the modern day state. What exactly does that look like? Sorry, if you're only getting the 30 minute broadcast, you can hear the entire treatment@fortisplus.org this is wretched Radio,
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Jimmy Hicks
And it's now time for your daily Fortis News Breaker production of Fortis Institute. Planned Parenthood's latest annual report is out, and it reads like a victory lap for the abortion business. The organization brought in a record $2.14 billion in revenue and performed an all time high 434,350 abortions, accounting for nearly 39% of all the abortions in the United States under Joe Biden. It also took 832 million in government funding. And what gets buried in the fine print is everything else. Prenatal care is now outnumbered by abortion 56 to 1. So when planned Parenthood says care continues, understand what kind of care they mean. And understand it pays very, very well. In Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers vetoed a bill requiring age verification on porn sites. And he did it on Good Friday. The bill passed the Assembly 69 to 22 with bipartisan support. 25 states have already passed similar laws. The Supreme Court upheld the Texas version in a 6:3 decision. Evers called it an intrusion into personal privacy, while State Senator Van Wengart said the timing was deliberate and he might be right. The governor knows he's well outside of where most of his own state stands on the issue. In Virginia, Governor Abigail Spanberger is already making history, and not the kind of history you put in a frame and hang on the wall. A new Washington Post poll shows her with the lowest approval rating of any Virginia governor in modern polling history. Just two months into the job, she's 13 points below the average for recent governors. Apparently running as a moderate and governing like a progressive still leaves a mark. In St. Paul, Minnesota, the harassment of city's church is still ongoing. It's the same church Don Lemon targeted weeks ago. And on Easter Sunday, police police arrested a woman for blasting a bullhorn during worship. She was charged with interference with religious observance. Prosecutors later dropped the charge over a paperwork issue. But the bigger story still remains. An American church needed police protection on Easter morning, and that tells you everything you need to know. The governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, suspended the state's gas sales tax for 30 days last week as fuel prices continue to climb. Georgia and Union, Utah have made similar moves. Fraudhead retailers need to pass the savings on to drivers and warn that the attorney general would be watching for price gouging. A University of Guelph professor is now warning that the International Olympic Committee's transgender ban will, according to the headline, harm women's sports. His case is that no study has shown trans identifying men hold a competitive advantage over women. That would be news to all of the peer review reviewed studies that say the exact opposite. Professor Then that wraps up today's Fortis News break. I'm Jimmy Hicks. If you want more you can download Fortis plus or sign up to become a Fortis Insider for exclusive daily content. Both of those things can be done@fortisinstitute.org also, don't forget that you can subscribe to Fortis News on your favorite podcast app in order to get these updates daily. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.
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Todd Friel
Know your reformers John Wycliffe, called the morning star of the Reformation, was a professor at Oxford in the 1300s who preached against papal authority in matters of doctrine, politics and church practice. After his death, his bones were dug up, burned and spread over the river. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.
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Michael J. Vlach
Please do not hit me upside the head. Hit Michael Vlock upside the head. This is Red Shit Radio. Not literally, of course, just metaphorically. His article Modern Israel and Israel in the Bible, clarifying the relationship. He's a professor of theology at Shepherd's Theological Seminary in Cary, North Carolina. He has helped us to walk through the Old and New Testament to understand what is Israel? What is Israel? Not modern, not all. What is Israel? How does God talk about Israel throughout the Bible? And he's established, I think, quite firmly biblically that Israel, it's a it's a national group, it's an ethnic group. It is a group of people in a particular setting in a particular land with with particular national components like religion and festivals and ceremonies. That's Israel. And the Bible always talks about Israel as it's an ongoing thing. It never disappears. It's always on the scene. And isn't it interesting? It has always been on the scene, hasn't it? Even with dispersion, it has always been on the scene. So Michael established that now he's going to get to the modern state of Israel. And here's what he writes. If the Bible portrays Israel as a continuing nation with enduring covenant promises and a lasting connection to the land, here's the question how should Christians understand the existence of the Jewish people today and the modern state of Israel? That's what we've been hanging on the edge of our seat for. And guess what he does before we do that? I read that. I'm like, dude, get to it, man. I'm just, you got me set up. I'm ready for it. But when I was reading through his we've got to understand this first it was like, oh, I see why you did that. And as we look at the conversation that is happening online, the YouTube videos that are being made, nobody's taking the time to unpack this carefully. Nobody is. That tends to be the way of the Internet. But Michael Vlach slows us down and says, look, before we can address that question, a clarification has to be made. Israel's ongoing significance does not depend on the establishment of the modern state. In 1948, that was clearly a big deal. Black is saying, before we go any further here, let's not confuse the issue with 1948. Because of the promises to Abraham, Israel remains relevant in God's purposes regardless of political circumstances. That's what he was making clear for the last, like, eight, ten pages that we've worked through. Israel remains relevant to God and his purposes no matter what's going on with Israel. Even if the Jewish state had never been reestablished, the people of Israel still occupy an important place in God's unfolding plan. The establishment of the state of Israel in 48 did not recreate the nation of Israel. It has always been so. If you want to take a. So from the time of Jesus, from the time of Romans 9 through 11 until today, like, what's Israel been? Israel. But they haven't been in the land. They're still Israel and they still have a connection to the land. Frankly, I think they have a deed to the land. They've always been Israel. That's Michael's point. Even during long centuries of dispersion, the Jewish people continued to exist as Israel. That was Tucker Carlson's beef, I think, with Mike Huckabee. Well, you've got Ashkenazi Jews and, you know, Netanyahu's family. They spoke Polish and they didn't practice. They were always Israel. And we see that in the Old Testament, don't we? When they were dispersed and speaking, they were even having to speak foreign languages to assimilate. That doesn't mean they still were not Israel. They continued to exist even when it did not exist as a political state. Now we got to take a look at the modern state and then we're going to answer the big question. How do we treat modern day Israel? First, it is a secular political state rather than a nation governed directly by Mosaic covenant. Okay, Tucker, it's different. It's not those people operating with a king and the Mosaic covenant. It is a contemporary political state. So we have to make sure that we've got that clear. Second, the population largely consists of Jews. Who return from many parts of the world, from all over the place. Third, the nation contains a wide range of religious and secular perspectives, just like they did in the Old Testament, by the way, the very reason they were scattered, because of their unbelief. So you've got cultural Jews then and now they're religious, they're not religious. You had it then, you've got it now. We need to understand that now. Guess what? Is modern day Israel connected to biblical Israel? We've got to establish that, then we're going to get to the practical. So we return now to AD 70, the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish people scattered all over the place, but they didn't disappear. Miraculously, Jewish communities, they were all over the world. And there were even small populations still living in the land itself. Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias, Hebron. And across the centuries, the Jewish people understood themselves to be the descendants of the ancient people of Israel. Ask a Jew if they're a Jew. Even a cultural Jew is going to go, yeah, I'm Jewish. And they will like really fight to be Jewish because that's their identity. They understand it. Even unbelieving Jews. Their religious life for the most part remained centered on the Hebrew scriptures, the Sabbath, biblical festivals. In exile, they prayed toward Jerusalem. They preserve the memory of the land. Next year in Jerusalem. That's been going on for centuries. And then you've got historical developments that reinforce the continuity of Israel. The language Hebrew was revived as a spoken language in Jewish society during the modern return to the land. Genetic studies of Jewish populations across the world indicate significant shared ancestry rooted in the ancient Near East. They've got a lineage. So the conclusion would be the Jewish people of today are historically connected to the people of ancient Israel and the modern state occupies the same land where the biblical story unfolded. We can't get tripped up with, well, they spoke a different language for a while. They were living in a different area. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. And their DNA is even proving it. Their genealogy, their national identity, their ethnicity, and oftentimes their religious practices. Because the Jewish population, they maintain clear ethnic, cultural and historical continuity with the ancient people of Israel. A meaningful connection exists between the Israel described in scripture and the Jewish people of today. Now you got an although thrown in here. Although Israel's existence doesn't depend on the approval of international bodies, the United nations nevertheless acknowledged the historical connection between the Jewish people and the land when it said it's got to be a state. They did that in 1947. That's important. Because we're examining something that was already studied 70 years ago. Yeah, they've got a connection to all of these dispersed Jews. That's where they used to live. It has always been recognized. So Tucker's use of the dispersion, it doesn't dissolve the nation of Israel. Differences in political structure do not erase the ethnic and historical continuity of the Jewish people or their connection to the land. And in 1948, the UN did not create a new people group. It marked the political reconstitution of a people whose identity had endured across centuries of dispersion. We've always gotten that. So the modern state of Israel should not be dismissed as irrelevant to the biblical storyline. The existence of the modern state does not fulfill the prophetic hopes of Israel's future restoration, but it does demonstrate the Jewish people continue to exist as a nation in history. Now then, all that to say what Israel's presence in the land does and doesn't mean. Again, this is lifted wholly from Michael J. Block. What does their presence in the land mean in relation to biblical prophecy? Well, if modern Israel does not yet represent the full restoration promised by the prophets, how should its existence be understood within the unfolding plan? So here's what it doesn't mean. Israel's presence in the land does not mean the nation has already experienced the salvation and spiritual renewal promised by the prophets. You know, like Ezekiel and the dead bones. Those prophecies include repentance, forgiveness of sins, inner transformation, the reign of the Messiah from David's throne. That hasn't happened yet. So we look at modern Israel and we go, okay, this ain't that part. Likewise, Israel's presence in the land doesn't place the nation beyond moral or political evaluation. That should be a relief, right? Because otherwise we have to be, like, overlooking anything that they do that's bad. Well, we've got to bless Israel. No, we don't bless sin. And furthermore, we recognize that the people that are living there right now, we can't say that they are the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, or I would even say of Romans, chapter 11. Supporting Israel's right to exist and her continuing role in God's purposes does not require Christians to approve of every political or military decision made by the modern Israeli government. Tucker Carlson should be glad. Also, recognizing Israel's role in God's purposes does not diminish the value or importance of other people groups. So we still care about other people in the region. The modern state that we see today as a basis for speculative date setting concerning the end times should be off the table. Now we'll get into the nuts and bolts of this. Do we get blessed if we bless Israel? How do we view modern day Israel versus Biblical Israel in a practical, hands on kind of way? Next on Wretched Radio
- [40:36]
Jimmy Hicks
Most men don't make one big decision that takes them off course. No, it happens gradually and eventually you look up and you realize I've been coasting for years. Dr. Adam Tyson has created Walk Like a Man. It's available now on Fortis Plus. Dr. Tyson knows that's the story for way too many guys right now. And so he gets into God's work and he lays out what it actually looks like to walk with wisdom and live with real conviction. And the way he teaches it, you'll walk away from every episode knowing exactly what to do and why it matters. This is biblical teaching that puts solid ground under your feet and gives you a clear path forward. It's streaming right now, with new episodes dropping every Monday on Fortis for free. Download the Fortis app right now. Wherever you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV, or just go to fortisplus.org and walk like a man. Should Christians drink? What about tattoos? Is it okay to send your kids to public school? Or does homeschool make you holier? And don't even get started on worship styles? That's ended more friendships than Monopoly. Here's the thing. Christians love to argue about stuff the Bible doesn't actually command or fear forbid. And when we do, we fracture over things that shouldn't divide us. That's where Christian Liberty comes in. It's a teaching series with Todd Friel, Phil Johnson and Ty Blackburn, all walking you through one of the most neglected and most misused doctrines in all of scripture. And when you actually understand Christian liberty, you stop majoring on minors. You learn to disagree without dividing. You grow in wisdom and maturity and have genuine love for other believers who see things a little bit differently than you do. Christian Liberty it's streaming right now for free on Fortis Plus. Just download the app where you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV, or just simply go to fortisplus.org There's a lot of Christian content out there that sounds deep, but it actually isn't. It's inspirational. It's nice, but it doesn't actually help you when life gets hard. Forda's forums are completely different. We're talking about how to comfort someone who's grieving and what scripture actually says, not just what sounds nice. We're talking about marriage when things aren't easy and mental health and whether the Bible has real answers. Biblical Manhood For a generation that's never been really given a model to follow, these are in depth conversations with people like Dr. Jason Lyle, Libby Gloss and Dr. Alex Adam Tyson and Dr. John Kratz, teachers who take the Bible seriously and don't shy away from the hard topics. These Fortis forums are all on Fortis for you to watch right now for free, and they're ready when you are. Just download the app wherever you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV. Or just simply go to fortisplus.org and see what Biblical depth actually looks like.
- [43:37]
Todd Friel
Important Dates in Christian history Henry VIII's act of Supremacy makes the King, not the Pope, head of the Church of England. While Henry's concerns were largely political, his archbishop Thomas Cranmer, worked to mold the Anglican Church into a thoroughly Protestant church this is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel,
- [44:00]
Michael J. Vlach
Peter, Paul and Jesus all agree. That's not a shocker. This is Wretched Radio courtesy of Michael J. Block A treatment on Old Testament Israel Israel in the New Testament and what do we do with the Israel today that we see across the oceans? How do we treat the modern state of Israel? Are they related to Old Testament Jews? Tucker Garlson wants to know. We should be able to answer the question. And Michael J. Block, I think, has done a pithy enough. It's like a 20 page article, but it's pithy enough. It's still even though it was pithy, it demands a more thorough treatment because there's a lot of verses to deal with. So here's what we've seen Old Testament Israel, even in unbelief, even in disobedience, obedience, even when they were scattered across the globe, were still considered the nation of Israel. Jesus also talked to them as the nation of Israel, even though they were unbelieving. Peter at Pentecost preaching to them, you are not good Jews. But they were still considered Jews. They're bad Jews, unbelieving Jews, but still Jewish. And what about Paul in Romans chapter 11? Well, he actually treats it all the way from Romans 9 through 11. But Romans 11, this is a really you gotta tackle it. I know it's hard stuff, but you gotta. You just gotta tackle it. He explains how Israel's present unbelief relates to God's larger purposes and how Christians should view the nation. So Starting in Romans 9, he addresses the issue raised by the unbelief. How can God remain faithful to his promises when the nation has not embraced its Messiah. And he concludes, I say, then God has not rejected his people, has He? May it never be. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. So to the Tucker Carlsons who are saying, I don't think we need to treat them that way because they're not that same people, Paul has resolved the issue. Tucker Carlson doesn't have a verse that says there is no continuity between Old Testament Israel and modern day Israel. But on this side of the argument, we actually have a verse that says, oh yeah, there's a relationship. God has not rejected his people, may it never be. He has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. So they don't have a verse that unwinds it. We actually have a verse that affirms it. Despite Israel's widespread rejection of Jesus, God's relationship with the nation has not been terminated. Now, between covenantalists and dispensationalists, we can talk about what that looks like, what the timeline is, but I think the agreement would be, yeah, there's still a plan, even in their state of unbelief, it's his people. So Paul's point should just settle the issue about unbelief. And then he explains the present situation of Israel fitting in with God's larger plan. Romans 11:1 10 talks about the existence of a believing remnant that's evidence that God's relationship with the nation remains intact. Paul himself is a part of that remnant. Israel's current unbelief is neither total nor final. Israel's stumbling because of it. Salvation has come to the Gentiles, which then does What? In Romans 11:11, it provokes Israel to jealousy. They're finally going to get to the point where they're like, you want what you've got. We want to believe in that Messiah now, that development. In other words, God still in his plan of redemption, has a role for the nation of Israel. How's about the image of the olive tree? In Romans 11:17, Paul explains that we've been grafted into the faith of the patriarchs. But he warns gentile believers, don't get arrogant toward Israel. Don't be arrogant. But if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. Okay, that's ongoing. And I understand there can be some confusion about some of the. I get that, but I think this is plenty clear to indicate that the nation of Israel, wherever they're located, whatever they're believing, is still God's nation of Israel. And then Paul points to a coming day when all Israel will be saved. All Israel will be saved. Okay, who is that? There must be an Israel. That day hasn't come. There must be an Israel. And Paul's mind there clearly is. Who is it? And the answer is it's Israel. Do they have to be living in that land? No, it's still God's people, which will bring riches for the world and even greater blessings to the Gentiles. Then Paul also kind of important that he identifies the Jews as having kind of a dual status. The nation is in unbelief toward the Gospel, but it's connected to God's covenant purposes. So it's both things. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable toward Israel. There's another verse that settles it. Israel is still Israel. And those promises are not unwound. They're affirmed in the New Testament. So what was true in Paul's day remains true today. Israel's unbelief. It is real. Can't minimize it. But it doesn't mean that God has rejected the nation it's beloved because of the patriarchal promises. And God's calling cannot be revoked. So here's the summary. I'm just going to read it for you. Is there a connection between the Israel of the Bible and the Jewish people today, including the modern state of Israel? According to Vlock, yes. Scripture indicates Israel would continue as a direct people and nation within God's purposes from the time of Israel's founding in Genesis. The biblical storyline never anticipates a period in which the nation permanently disappears or fades from God's plans. Even after dispersion, the Jewish people have continued to exist as an identifiable ethnic community with historical and cultural ties to the people of Israel described in Scripture. That's a pretty good summary of what we've heard. When large numbers of ethnic Israelites again live in the historic land of Israel and consciously identify with that biblical heritage. It's difficult to deny that a meaningful connection exists between the Israel of the Bible and modern Israel. Something's going on now. We don't know what the deals are. We don't want to interpret eschatology through the modern state of Israel. But you can't deny this certainly is in alignment with God's redemptive ark, isn't it? Block writes, the fact that the modern state is largely secular, or at least at times makes questionable political and military decisions doesn't erase this historical and biblical continuity. That might be a helpful way to express it to somebody Like Tucker. Oh, Tucker. There's biblical continuity for the nation of Israel starting in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 12. But it makes its way into the mosaic covenant. Deuteronomy 28:30. It's in Ezekiel, it is. Jesus talks about the Jewish people and their future. Peter and Paul talk about the future of the Jewish people. Romans 9:11. We see the Jewish people getting saved. In the Book of Revelation. There's a continuity, Tucker. The nation of Israel, ever since God said, you're mine, have been his people and will be his people and there's a plan for Israel Block. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel often existed as God's covenant people, while many within the nation lived in unbelief and disobedience. Those failures did not erase Israel's identity or cancel God's covenant purposes for the nation. So for this reason, Israel's present unbelief should not be seen as severing the historic and biblical connection between modern Israel and the Israel described in Scripture. The end. That's Locke's treatment of this subject. Do we have complete clarity? I just think that all issues are too complex for complete clarity when it comes to global politics. But certainly the Bible is not fuzzy about Israel and who they are. So do I now I will inject me. Do I believe that the promise given to Abraham that the kindly treatment toward his descendants will bring blessing? I do. Does that mean we affirm everything they do? No. Does that mean that our government needs to get involved in every sort of military excursion that Israel invites us into? No. Doesn't there's decisions that need to be made around it? Is it a good war? Is it a bad war? Is it a just war? What are the American interests in this? What will happen to Israel if we don't? Those are all questions that need to be asked on a one on one, just as they happen in real time. So we can't just say that we will always do everything that Israel asks. But I believe that the promises given to Abraham, to those who bless Israel, they're still available to us today. Furthermore, this is to a degree speculation. I hope it's a sanctified speculation. Could it be, at least in heart, in part, that the American experiment has been so blessed because of our attitude toward the nation of Israel and the Jewish people? I can't definitively say yes, but you can't definitively say no either. So with that, we look at what's going on in the Middle east, we view it through a biblical understanding that this is a nation that still has a plan. Now, the interesting part of this, that is like another chapter in the entire conversation is, well, what about the church? Aren't we God's people? Yes, we are. We are. And Peter makes that clear. He's constantly using terminology given to Jewish people in the Old Testament. Kingdom of priests, God's chosen people, a people of God's own possession. Those were titles of Israel given to us, but that doesn't mean that we have swiped those titles forever. And there is a future plan for Israel. And in the meantime, no matter where they're located, no matter what they believe, I believe the Bible is crystal clear. That's Israel. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.